INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA "#iJ/vy
RICHARD LYNN '(5GRI<
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland tVRN3fJH
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore
m=01V5_
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ,/w*sE
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a /Sj~lHh
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of o^@"eG$,
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation G]>yk_#/\U
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. T'5{p
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples [
h3xW
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the )$n%4 :
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed vN{@c(=g
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally "r&,#$6W6
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of r
!Aj5
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies Bu(51wU8
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean `DY
yK?R
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained !1)aie+p6
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ]j3> =Jb;
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by 5?-HQoT)G
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Dx-P]j)4x
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. yiZtG#6K{
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids wmr?ANk
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the Ocdy;|&
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest _= v4Iz0
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the zTg\\z;
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high }/a%-07R
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been AT"gRCU$4
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn '|IcL1c=I
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be `NW/Z/_
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. >B{NxL3->
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial }Z"iW/?"
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become BD
C DQ
available and are the subject of this report. FW |&
iS$
METHOD f)*"X[)o
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by =K`.$R
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. jA{5)-g
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a iqDyE*a
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from L0wT :x*
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given i5}Z k r
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 4`,(*igEv
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile eq6O6-
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the J9mK9{#q
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). kG>jb!e@(
RESULTS GY]P(NU
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ZQfxlzj+X
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which (GmBv
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 072C!F
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the kZw"a*6
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the x?wvS]EBg
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to wm`<
+K
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 8S1@,O,
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the -%`~3*L
British standardisation sample. x4^nT=?6_
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 7S{qo&j'
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD <<>+z5D+
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. D^6*Cwb
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means KOy{?
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. O@Aazc5K
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of E'LI0fr
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white *k LFs|U
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an Q>{$Aqc,e
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 qi,) l*?f
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean b&rBWp0#
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ~tp]a]yV
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater y*iZ;Bv j
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically K}l3t2uk
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. nONuw;K
DISCUSSION /whaY4__O\
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in yLC[-.H
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ~~/,2^
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically K3!3[dR*
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ]M5~p^ RB
living standards in China. ETHcZ
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- juHL$SGC
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by N!K%aH~O
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than c[Fc3
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & r{R-X3s
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the &O'W+4FAc
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half cI2Ps3~"Q
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 :'p)xw4K|
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this U<j5s\Y,
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been z0}j7ns]
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in w5m/[Z
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). %OBW/Ti
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US SxRJ{m~
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 k)b{UFRW
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and &BPYlfB1
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back -$Fj-pO\
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs W[&nQW$E
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living
DN2 ]Y'
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be k$kE5kh,S
expected to increase further. =2p?_.|'