INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA JjnWv7W3$
RICHARD LYNN :KBy(}V
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ETrL3W<
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore SVqKG+{My
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of [}Y_O*C !
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a <
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of DcmRvi)&6
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation eRB
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ~o8x3`CoF
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples <E\vc6n
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the X?n(
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United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed l'kV
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally q;9OqArq
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of KfV&7yi
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies T!QAcO
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean RBV*e9P%
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained M6
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a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature tJ Mm
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by !'8jy_<9
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 #EIcP=1m4
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. I$JyAj
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids s+6tdBvzs
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the zI.:1(,
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ;6{{hc4
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the ->5[C0: ]
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Gw?ueui<
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been D@`"99z
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn k5eTfaxl
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be /gq\.+'{
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. {lN G:o
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial ?T_bjALW
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become yIqRSqM
available and are the subject of this report. Y(h(Z
METHOD RwDXO
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by c[;=7-+
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. cb%ML1c
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a l` ?4O
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from o3a%u(
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given gCv[AIE_m
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables =$WDB=i
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ?HP{>l0r
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the /R[PsB
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). X oh@ (%
RESULTS QUz_2rN^
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ]vZ}4Xno
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which w!
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is ![/ QW
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the \_AoG8
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age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the ##/ l
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to Dj x[3['
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ]RTK:%
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the >o!5)\F
British standardisation sample. 8QN/D\uq
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD ?/^{sW'
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 6yhRcvJ}
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Q6=>*}Cm6m
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. Jek3K&
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of *2r(!fJP=^
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white ]h}O&K/
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an # &Z1d(!
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 aIklAj)=
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 2 D!$x+|
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by xZ>@wBQ
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater jP"yG#
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically e)A{
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. gutf[Ksu
DISCUSSION apv"s+
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 0l~z0pvT
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States %p
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and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 4|xQQv
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ms/Q-
living standards in China. b0yNc:
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ,Zb_Pu
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by Ls{]ohP
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than )C%S`d<%,
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 7*g'4p-
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ANXN.V
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half L?r\J8Ch<
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 okLheF
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this J9XV:)Yv#
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been Y$nI9
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in >(eR0.x
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). 1L<X+,]@
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US js)I%Z
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 tz_WxOQ0
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and trM)&aQto
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back =xRxr@
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs a\Dw*h?b~
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living E9:p A5H-j
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be MTeCmFe0;
expected to increase further. ^LAdN8Cbb