INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 0eGz|J*7
RICHARD LYNN n A<#A
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ,ln=kj
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore IL]Js W
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of '`)r<
lYN,
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a _d[4EY
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of agbG) t0
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation A~@u#]]<n
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. q =\3jd
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples E*sQ|" g
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the W~!uSrY
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed
dR9[K4`p/
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally :t7M'BSm2z
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 'l sG?
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies c %jW'
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean [Yq*DkW
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 8\N`2mPt
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature T{USzMj
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by G~VukW<e
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 hxB`
hu-
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. j>}<FW-N
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids j(QK 0 "z
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the e5s=@-[
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 0b)q,]l]
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the m,Fug1+N
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high aqw;T\GI+~
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been iI]E
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determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 8l50@c4UF~
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be pV^(8!+
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. @VzD>?)
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial .|VWYN
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 2C@ui728
available and are the subject of this report. pzQWr*5a
METHOD u ?
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by Vx~N`|yY
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. (}4]U=/nV
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a /c&;WlE/n
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from W
x`|u
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given +o4W8f=Ga
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables Ft[)m#Dj`
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 'yw7|i2
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the _Nx#)(x
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). Ag82tDL[u
RESULTS ~jpdDV&u\
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for yP~O C|Z
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which f4[Bj{F
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is b 9%G"?~Zz
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the IyV%tOy
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the @ptE&m
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to k"L?("~
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Zv"qA
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the &gr)U3w
British standardisation sample. =o+js;3
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH xoYaL
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD #~I.F4
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. Ec/-f`8
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means a,YU
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. q83!PI
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of i?+>,r@\p
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white ] 'B4O1
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an ~
Pm[Ud
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 >!gW]{
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean YQ`m;<
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by -Wt
(t2
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater UNC%<=
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically s?,\aSsU@
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. C)RJjaOr
DISCUSSION Qp5YS
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in /SvB
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 9i?Q=Vuc~<
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically [b?[LK}.
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low
{ch+G~oS
living standards in China. }vXf}2C
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- w vQ.9
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by 8%,u~ELA
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than rHMr8,J;
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & %n!7'XF'[
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the Wu1">|
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 6a%dq"5 +
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 %u@}lG k
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this S#|dmg;p
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been {
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in P'Gf7sQt7
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). rQ:+LVfXjA
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US ;+Mee^E>!
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 ?kBX:(g
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and dBG5IOD
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back X%lk] &2
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs *;0Ods+IcY
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living OngUZMgdb
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be PX$_."
WA
expected to increase further. q
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