INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA \ v+>qY<q
RICHARD LYNN L~/L<M s
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland z-3.%P2g
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore U6|T<bsOl
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of #Fo#f<bp
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a W*iTg%a\k
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of ]Ndy12,M
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ;HYEJ3
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. IAbQgBvUD
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples >r X$E<B\
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the NHUJ:j@
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed YXTV$A+lW
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally +<$nZ=,hsy
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies @gqZiFM)
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean W4.w
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained An}RD73!w
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature C ]B P}MY<
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by qh W]Wd"g
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 \{Q_\s
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and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Z[&FIG%tV
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids P )oNNY6}
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the D
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intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest #Rfcp!
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the -Sh&x
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high ?zP
2
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been CN` ~DD{
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn D9;pjY
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 2aR9vmR
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ho6hjhS|u
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial rF}Q(<Y86
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become dYOY8r/
available and are the subject of this report. izcjI.3e,
METHOD !\VEUF,K?
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ,gpEXUp
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Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. zqt%x?l
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a AMB{Fssz
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from Y6Y"fb%K
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given gT+wn-3
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables wWx{#
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile C}uzzG6s
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the ,%A|:
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United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). atd;)o0*0
RESULTS ->OVNmCB`+
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for >jiez,
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which :!cK?H$+
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is E;`^`T40
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the E ,ilJl\
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the J9t?;3
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 2::YR?
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ab9ec Z
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the :Hb`vH3x
British standardisation sample. f
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH z{
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD I.C
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. gREk,4DAv
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means y:Gn58\o
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British.
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The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of y5*zyd
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white S W6oaa81
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an K:XP;#OsP
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 )RTWt`
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 9%SC#V'
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by czT2f
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater [f {qb\
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 8kcMgCO
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 9fs-|E[5
DISCUSSION PP\ bDEPy
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in PPFt
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 7l/ZRz}1
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically +-),E.
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low %t6-wWM97
living standards in China. ~s-gnp
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- H)S!%(x4
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by CvZ\Z472.j
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than F#L1~\7
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & h|PC?@jp
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ?zC{T*a
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 7vRp<
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 OXpN8Dh5
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this 0#=xUk#LP`
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been Vg,nNa3
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in /9gn)q2f(
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). RhB)AUAj
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US I0H]s/*C%9
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 ~uq010lMno
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and qs\Cwn!
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 9MO=f^f-
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 5|r*,!CF
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ?Bq^#i|m
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be rZ n@i
expected to increase further. fwA8=oSZd