INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA WVS$O99Y
RICHARD LYNN '7Mep
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 9DOkQnnc
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 7deAr$?Wx
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of Ak5[PBbW
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a %1\v7Xw{9
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of eQU-&-wt0
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Ao
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. -,QKTxwo>
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples V(;55ycr
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the Y^R?Q'
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed *$i; o3
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally =`qRu
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of By?
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 'y4zBLY
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ^^7L"je]g
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained j-J(C[[9
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature -ca7x`yo
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by @s%X
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 M*5,O
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. %n05Jitl
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids L#`2.nU
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 17>5#JLP
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 7
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the [)#u<l
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homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 0A#*4ap
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been N[qA2+e$Z
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn vG ]GQ#
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be O87"[c`>
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. [D3+cDph
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial l`@0zw+
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become xw PI
available and are the subject of this report. X"h%tsuw
METHOD "jL1.9%"
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by (U|)xA]y!
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. }#yU'#|d
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ;asm 0H(
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from |DN^NhtE
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given !1a}| !Zn
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables -#LjI.
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile fyM3UA\U
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the EXA^!/)
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). z)4UMR#b&
RESULTS 4|[<e-W
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for 9p<:=T
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ,~(|p`
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 7:n?PN(p6a
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the zlH28V
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the gjW\
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percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to tNK^z7Dm
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British X<(6T
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ]SFWt/<
British standardisation sample. vO\:vp4fH
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH {7vgHutp
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD a9[mZVMgUK
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ~?#~ Ar
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Y!SE;N&
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. OmB
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The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of }>2t&+v+
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white Y[W6Sc
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an XZ.7c{B<
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 w{PUj
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean ;\N79)Gk
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by B!eK!B
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater b-PSm=`
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically HHz;0V4w?
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. oZgHSR RL
DISCUSSION hZcmP"wgC1
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 9khjwt
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States }FrEF\}]_7
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 4~!Eje!
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low *kP;{Cb`
living standards in China. 6\NvG,8
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- O?CdAnhQc`
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by "tqnx?pM
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than swttp`
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & YWEYHr;%^?
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the Di:{er(p
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half Qh*)pt]n
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 /vHYM S
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this (~h7rAEc
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been {$;2HbM(
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in zm>>} 5R
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). 8qn 9|
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US >tN5vWW
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Ua %UbAt
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and >-b&v $
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back %NNj9Bl<VV
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs G\R*#4cF
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 0; 7#ji
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be kP@HG<~
expected to increase further. -$.0Dc)3!