INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA Sv#S_jh
RICHARD LYNN NQ3EjARZt
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland nNc>nB1
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Gf<f#.5y
,
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ",,W1]"%
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Y%zYO
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of 9_Ws8nE
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Crg@05Z
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. B!j7vXM2
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples FTJv
kcc?m
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the !pJd^|4A]
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed &=>|? m8
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally BmhIKXE{*
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of pB;8yz=
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ;ElwF&"!X
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean q+ZN$4 m
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained XbaUmCuh
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature %96l(JlJ)B
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by fk5$z0 /
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 9YQYg@+R
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Fo.p}j+>
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids p uOAt
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the br3r!Vuz/-
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest lnQfpa8j
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the `zoC++hx
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high k=&UV!J
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been ^.gBHZ
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn Rlwewxmr
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 07
E9[U[
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
I?R?rW
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial
>{1 i8 b@
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become pP|LSrY!
available and are the subject of this report. E7`Q=4@e
METHOD =zsA@UM0
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by L]e@./C$
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. gt \O
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a &x.n>O
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from O'.sK pXe
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 4
Q<c I2|
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables eeM$c`Y<
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile jCK 0+,;
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the )<K3Fz
Bs
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). LW#$%}
RESULTS &P:2`\'
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for !kQJ6U
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which bdYx81
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 5
fDp"-
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the :k/Z|
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the {lO>i&mx
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to sZh| <2
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 38zG[c|X
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 9%iv?/o*L
British standardisation sample. !;%+1j?d
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH P9f,zM-
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD (dnaT-M3
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. /RBIZ_
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means ]_js-+w6
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ;!:@3c
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of w
f""=;
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white @AfC$T
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an Nc_Qd4<[@G
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 qBDhCE
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean {oVoN>gp
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by jccSjGX@w
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater }}X<e
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically =N^j:t
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. hi0-S
w
DISCUSSION :pw6#yi8`
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in
/cC4K\M
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Xaw&41K
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically q/eo
d
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ., =\/ C<
living standards in China. (Kg( 6E,
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- g^)8a;/c
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by .|c=]_{
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than XCyAt;neon
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & (yO8G-Z0
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the H$)__V5I,q
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half
:zK\t5
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 N_o|2
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this #>_5PdO
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been L43]0k
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in <(tnClAn
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). M
$\!SXL
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US p%#=OtkC
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 u;Rm/.
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Sau?Y
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back S%IhpTSe6
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs /VHQ!
Wi
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living j`l'Mg
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be s$ZKd
expected to increase further. *z
}<eq