INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA <0r2m4z
RICHARD LYNN 90oG+T4
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland RHdcRojF
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ~5[#c27E9
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of T\VKNEBo
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a _h2axXFhT
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of -rSpgk0wL
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation GRK+/1C
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ?H\K];
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples J2M[aibV
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the +,&8U&~`
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed "|yuP1;L
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally gwj+~vSfi
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of N|OI~boV%
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies YQWGv,47\
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean xt7ZrT
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained v&p|9C@
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature dC$z q~q
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by /*)zQ?N
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 }j^asuf~c
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. K]{Y >w
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids K
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the '`#sOH
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest A~_*vcz
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the :d v{'O
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high fD<9k
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been nCZ&FNi{O~
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn S:IhJQ4K
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be UMN3.-4K#
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Nr?Z[6O|
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial ;by`[)
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become -\OvOkr
available and are the subject of this report. M<R3Jz T
METHOD J3Ox
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by \a+.~_iL|
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. 8LI,'XZ
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a eM";P/XaX
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from xx`xDD
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given t'e1r&^:r~
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables E-Nc|A
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile mhZ{}~
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the a\60QlAk~
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). {k4)f ad\
RESULTS b*w@kLLN
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for B|9)4f&\=R
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which e5/f%4YX
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is [ZC{eg+D
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the
?/Bp8q(
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the \':'8:E
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to WZ\bm$
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British F<K;tt
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ,%>]
British standardisation sample. lx
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH z']TRjDbT
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD .gL%0
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. J!40`8i
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means TUw+A6u:p
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. I8R#EM%C#
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of |sP;`h}I%
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white W rB:)Q(8=
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an V*X6 <}
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 V2As 5
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean @]v}&j7
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by I!FIV^}Z(
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater TPjElBh
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically .E H&GX
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. y:t@X~
DISCUSSION }
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 6'YT3=
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States F xek#
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically km@V|"ac
_
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low u^HC1r|%
living standards in China. d??;r:
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- S{HAFrkm7
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by #NU@7Q[4
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than <$6r1y*G
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 0_F6t-
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the z l?Gd4
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half e[<vVe!
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 ,E8:!r)6
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this !&'GWQY{(
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been F|+Qi BO
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in (}Q(Ux@X
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). RLy(Wz3%
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US GtR!a
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 g=)B+SY'
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and k!?sHUAj
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back &PQhJ#YG
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 7+_TdDBYs
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living K/xn4N_UX
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be U"nk AW
expected to increase further. muh[wo