INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA q
Ry<
W
RICHARD LYNN W6cA@DN$#
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland gG5@ KD6k
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore `x%(
n@ g
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of +JQ/DNv
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a |cK
o#nfzZ
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Z1u:OI@(
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation x%<oeM3U
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. Npu#.)G
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples *2wFLh
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 0V:7pSC{P
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed 5~ho1Ud
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally s'/b&Idf8
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of J~dk4D\
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies )q#1C]7m*
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean i4"BN,NZ{
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained iBlZw%zKP
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature gzdR|IBa
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by u17e
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 -n.ltgW@
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. X'BFR]c
m
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ~%)ug3%e
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the +"8AmN4
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest doe
Yc
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the }\+7*|
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high w=]id'`?q
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been GI:J9TS
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn eAvOT$
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be @0js=3!2
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. C9+`sFau@
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial
}@VdtH
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become H\W/;Nn
available and are the subject of this report. jN.'%5Q?H
METHOD LRe2wT>I
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by %=C49(/K_
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. Q#+y}pOLP
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a DK-V3}`q}
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 0|mF
/
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given #9=as Y
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables @JF
fyQ {-
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ++b1VBP
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the mRJX,
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). kTJz .
RESULTS b=Rw=K.
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for |"7F`M96I
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which l]:nncpns
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is PDwi] )6mf
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the *>b*I4dz
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 5!GL"
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to %OS}BAh^i
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British urM=l5Sx
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the h?UUd\RU)
British standardisation sample. .aJ\^Fx
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH fcDiYJC*
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD `|9NxF+
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. QPL6cU$&R
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means TCb 7-s
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. fC1PPgQ\
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of 8HL$y
-F
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white w0`aW6t#
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 0M[O(.x
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 .&
|Ivz6
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean a g=,oYn
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by %5) 1^
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater yWsJa)e3*@
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 0[ (Z48
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. L?[NXLn+
DISCUSSION kH&KE5
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in LI`L!6^l
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States |ATz<"q>
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 7t8[M(
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low }ZPO^4H;-
living standards in China. ey icMy`7{
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi-
S xn#
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by /HlLfW
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than QOb+6qy:3
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ?<_yW#x6
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the SEf:u
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half
f8Z[prfP
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 ?ykQ]r6a<
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this {\HEUIa]w
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been _t
l
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in UJhmhI
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). p_ H;|m9
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US OC(S"&D
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 f=$w,^)M
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and PAYbsn
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back k
`#OXLR
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs l'Oz-p.@
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living iR_j
h=2{
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be G{wIY" ~4
expected to increase further. nu
'r`