INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA }z2K"eGt
RICHARD LYNN g^:7mG6C
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland (DTkK5/%
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 7L!q{%}
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of 6Kd,(DI
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Ly6) ,[q~
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Uql7s:!,U
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation &s&Ha{(!w
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 0O?!fd n
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples "ScY
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have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the iP?=5j=4
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed W-vEh
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally SJ:Wr{ Or3
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of Wt!NLlN8
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 6^nxw>-
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean &>hln<a>
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained vLM-v
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature Qexv_:C
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by "=9)|{=m
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 5%R$7>`Z
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. }4xz, oN
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids m pM,&7}
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the BctU`.
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ~"vRH
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the XN'<H(G
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high |JCn=v@
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been =,LhMy
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn U9q6m3#$
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be kn6X
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. :D=y<n;S+
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial -O[9{`i]
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become RSf*[2
available and are the subject of this report. Eb\SK"8
METHOD kL%o9=R1
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by n UD;y}}n
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. Je~<2EsQ
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a P Z+Rz1x
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ~ponYc
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given /k^O1+]H
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables @X#e
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile Uj~
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equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the lQer|?#
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). z%L\EP;o}
RESULTS rh(77x1|(G
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for h)yAge
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which `"j _]
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is :FI4GR*?
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the &n&ndq
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 4m/L5
W:K
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to B,ZLX/c9
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ro@`S:
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the K]Q1VfeL=
British standardisation sample. EeS VY
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH `z`"0;,7S
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Jgf=yri
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. <ApzcyC
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means j;i7.B"[
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. JA^Y:@
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The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of n6
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white [moz{Y
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an },tn
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 iYzm<3n?
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean GvD{ I;
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 3 e<sNU?
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater l":Z. J
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically OW8"7*irT
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. {@<EVw
DISCUSSION [+4--#&{
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 9vz"rHV
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States .t
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and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically / 9soUt
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low {@`Z`h"N
living standards in China. Kyq/o-
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- /'>#1J|TlK
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by wLH
[rwPr
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 'B$qq[l]S
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & dK?vg@|'
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the O8WL
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half n/-d56
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 Q
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this RU
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rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been )I9W a*
I
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in %NfbgJcL_
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). {!7 ^
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In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US s4Z5t$0|
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 1\BQq
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and i^u5j\pfY*
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back a$'=a09
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs `Ui|T
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ?hwT{h
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be -OV!56&
expected to increase further. ih/MW_t=m=