INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA {g!
7K
RICHARD LYNN "bIb?e2h9G
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ^3TNj
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore t&xoi7!$
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of (Kwqa"Hk4{
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ejlns
~
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of U
fyhd
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation rNR7}o~ qo
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. "~5cz0
H3v
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples d?8OY
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the F)(^c
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed 9H/>M4RT
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally H;
NV?CD
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of |ZL?Pqki
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies R7/S SuG6\
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ~x^y5[5{
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained vY-CXWC7
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature {_Wrs.a'8
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by `^Vd*
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 g5|~i{"0
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. n&njSj/
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids dgjK\pH`h
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the =nGFLH6)
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest RkE)2q[5
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the ;NR|Hi]
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 3l~+VBR_
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been _Xt/U>N
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 7ocUFY0"
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be `UTPX'Vz
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. N#K)Z5J)b
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial mUa#sTm
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ${MzOi
available and are the subject of this report. &h0LWPl
METHOD hhze5_$_
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by b)<WC$"
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. kU[hB1D5
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a N<9 c/V
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ~= *o
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given l!f_ +lv
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables =P]Z"Ok
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile *O
:JECKU
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the W;Y^(f
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). `9co7[Z
RESULTS 2n
,z`(=
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for b^VRpv
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which |n/;x$Cb
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is o
Fj_o
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 6u0>3-[6OD
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the vN'+5*Cgy6
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to [(
heE
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British \ZZ6r^99
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the o]q
~sJVk6
British standardisation sample. r8s>s6vm
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH ,*J@ic7"
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 5rows]EJJl
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ?>}p'{I
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Gr\ ]6
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. )2Ei
<
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of Z 2N6r6
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white Hu"$)V
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an F
qH)
)2
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 +@Qr GY
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean Z)s
!p
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by `eMZhYo
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater }PBme'kP
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 2iG+Ek-?"
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. d}\]!x3t
DISCUSSION J'}+0mln
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in uu.X>agg
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States [)Nt;|U
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically l8FJ \5'M
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low _y~6b{T
living standards in China. ]E-/}Ysz
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- s<zN`&t
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by SBreA-2
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than f~NS{gL*
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & )8A.Wg4S;c
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the x/DV> Nfn
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half KL'1)G"OH
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 +]eG=.
u
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this M0w Uis:`
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been itYoR-XJ
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in i1cd9
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). qWhW4$7x
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US a;xeHbE
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Wx:v~/r
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Dy
N[Yp|V
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ;k!.ey$S
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ZaYiby@Ci
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living Sb[>R(0:
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be uO]D=Z\S(
expected to increase further. ,Z~`aHhr