INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 5S:#I5Wa
RICHARD LYNN M
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland V}ZF\SG(K
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ZK4/o
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of S5]rIcM
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Q}ho
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of %76N$
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ?}y?e}y*xZ
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. l= % v
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples dL5u-<y&
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the pulE6T7x
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed (</cu$w>H)
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 'bj$Z M9
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 6JBE=9d-Q
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies hH8:7i
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean 8E{<t}
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained Ro`Hm8o/
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature |)QE+|?P
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by )y-y-B=+T
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ,6?L.L
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. rz0~W6 U
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids hp6S *d
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the rwr>43S5<3
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest gl-O"%rMcL
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the qJ!&H
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high k0.|%0?K
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been _
v\=ag
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn hh`7b ,+ 4
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be - xtj:UO
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. n
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial zZDa71>
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become L!:}
available and are the subject of this report. lil1$K: i
METHOD Zuod1;qIh
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by g83]/s+
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. D]resk
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ;,n{6`
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from qazM@
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given I$v*SeVHE
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 1QXv}36#3n
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ^yiRrcOo
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the >[B[Q_})
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). hb7H- Z2
RESULTS c*ac9Y'o
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ::N'tcZ^2
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which I?@9;0R
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is * 3mF.^
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the =xFw4D9
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the HjUs}#</
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to "
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American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British pA9^-:\*
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the bCHA
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British standardisation sample. ^.y}2
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH Ul7)CT2:
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 1I^[_ /_\y
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. mu0ER 3o
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Kf
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ziCTvT
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of ^0ZabR'
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white d(zBd=;
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 2:^Dv1J)rD
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 K1a$
m2
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean TG'_1m*$
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by H\AJLk2E
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater -4{sr|
lm
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically GGsDR%U
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant.
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DISCUSSION WjtmV2b<7
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in _M=
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States S1NM9xHJ
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically a=\r~Z7E
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low 82Dw,Cn
living standards in China. 4vcUHa|4
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- GL'zs8AKf
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by GBIa Ul
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ;muxIr`?
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 0|n1O)>J
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the hSE\RX 9
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half EQXvEJ^
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 E\&~S+:Xp
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this }6MHIr=o
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been w N9I )hB
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in LC)
-aw>-
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). }2;~':Mklz
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US _U;z@
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 .4pWyqU)!
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and eS9uKb5n(
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 9m MPkgc
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Q1? !,a
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ;QQLYT
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be PJLSDIeN
expected to increase further. gtWJR