INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA xouy|Nn'
RICHARD LYNN FR 1se
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland bY7~b/
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore }TAHVcX*p
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of **lT 'D
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a D*o[a#2_
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of uOnyU+fZV
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation gAViwy9{
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. wUbL
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 'P<T,:z?
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ~:lN("9OI
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed WG.J-2#3
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally dnUiNs8
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of Zk
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ;l2pdP4jf
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean %4HpTx
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 9x9~u8j
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 5_ioJ
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by <MoKTP-<
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 $4*k=+wS
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. rJ}k!}G
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids LzJNQd'
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 4?9cyv4H
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest >6zXr.
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the ,mW-O!$3W
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high @+
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intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been V61.UEN
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn ?g #4&z.
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 4GTB82V$
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial {`CmE/`{
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become )nJh) {4\
available and are the subject of this report. >\c"U1%E
METHOD .f]2%utHB
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ITu5Y"x
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. 6 N.+
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a H@pF
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 60&4?<lR4
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given \LZVazXD
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables w0N8a%
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile )rFcfS+/
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the h2]gA_T`
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ]
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RESULTS 74q|FQ
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ![#>{Q4i
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which L;s,x V
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is {QRrAi
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the nXnO]wXC
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the -R-|[xN
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ~g[<A?0=y
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British .ITR3]$
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the b".e6zev
British standardisation sample. &WGG
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH X[up$<