INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA o$% KbfXO]
RICHARD LYNN hS &H*
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland AX6:*aZB
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore `^on`"\{u
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of jr.{M
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Kf(Px%G6K
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of \nuzl
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation o+{i26%
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. G,P
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples HOH5_E>d
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ht6}v<x.eA
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed k'&1,78[l
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally KQ6][2-
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of \8\TTkVSq
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies HN/YuP03[
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ;w]1H&mc*A
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained TC'S
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a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature nm%qm
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by e];IQ
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Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Bfdfw+
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. XVfUr\=,T
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids NRP)'E
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the *sB'D+-/
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest BdU .;_K
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the dxZn| Y
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high cp~6\F;c
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been bf1$:09
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn l :u1P
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ?z-nY,'^uq
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. $RF.LVc
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial S5F5Tr;TN
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become XUR#|
available and are the subject of this report. @cxM#N8e
METHOD F=*t]X[z}
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ;O~FiA~`c
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. -Q
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Q hRj*,
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 5%V(eR
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given N.]~%)K:{
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables nTs\zikP
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile aL;zN%Tw
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the z(O*DwY#
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). b5jD /X4
RESULTS CK4#ZOiaa
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for `}uM91
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raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 8dt=@pwx&
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is &dj/Dq@
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the };"_Ku4#-
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the +jq@!P"}d
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 3xP<J)S0
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Xa;wx3]t
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the l& sEdEA
British standardisation sample. IQ~Anp^R
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH &"T7K
Xx
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 1B&XM^>/
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. Lp }V 94xT
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. B>d49(jy
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of &6Lh>n(
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white Ygg(qB1q
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an b%@9j;
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 Xm(#O1Vm(l
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean uX{g4#eG
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by n[y^S3}%;
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Yh"9,Z&wiR
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically A~k:
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. =x(k)RTDu
DISCUSSION i
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in vmfFR
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States r]QeP{
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 2Z<S^9O9
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low +
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living standards in China. qQo*:3/];
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- +:70vZc:V@
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by @ra JB'
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ND=JpVkvZ?
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 7o
Uo [
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the 'h~IbP
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half F/tRyq`D
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 8(q8}s$>
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this >}]bKq
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been F8tMZ,:
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in Zg4wd/y?
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). JW2f 6!b
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US gwg~4:W
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 "la0@/n
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and l$l6,OzS@
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back GuL0:,
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 6fBA#Kb
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ;BWWafZ
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be 3&c'3y:b
expected to increase further. XPt>klf