INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 1hS~!r'qqv
RICHARD LYNN I
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ;qK6."b`;
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ,4,c-
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of =1[g `b
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a I !O S&8:u
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of ,quTMtk
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation BAHx7x#(
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. !17Z\Ltqyj
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples S$WM&9U
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the kR(=VM JU
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed c10).zZ
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally *b_ 54X%3
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of nH rCSfK
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ;BVhkW A
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean mh]$g<*m
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained +}/!yQtH
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature LTc t0Gh
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by mkA|gM[g7
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 W10fjMC}^
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. /vMyf),2
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids D:EF@il
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the fC|u
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest H\bIO!vb
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the GA}^Rh`T-
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Q>yt O'v
1
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been _AbEQ\P{
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn TMsoQ82
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be $ '*BS
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. dhkpkt<G8
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial LS;anNk@.}
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become V5 r7eC
available and are the subject of this report. ii9/ UtIQ
METHOD IBh~(6
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by &Z!2xfQy>
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. #{,IY
03
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 18`%WUPnT
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from j
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given hspg -|
R
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables c<e\JJY5?
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ,2 bAKa
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the F
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United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). %Eg e^4PE
RESULTS }C.{+U
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for |hoZ :
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 3fTI&2:
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is [+z:^a1?V
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the s\!vko'M
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 0 XzO`*
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to V p{5Kxq
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British >IjLFM+ U
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Y cpO;md
British standardisation sample. s3 $Q_8H
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH T%/w^27E
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD pnJT
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. Q$j48,e
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means !g"9P 7p
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 3PffQ,c[~
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of }wXD%X@)l
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white p\ S3A(
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 5 ZPUY
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ) 7J>:9 h
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean "mK (?U!A
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by nDy=ZsK
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater EZBzQ""
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically Bx4GFCdifC
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. p04+"
DISCUSSION A o$z )<d'
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 09 s}@C
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States G -
WJlu
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically Bn q\Gg
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low V0i$"|F+ E
living standards in China. +~O{
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- AAgA]OD,
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by F\bI6gj
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than fM.|#eLi
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & xS1|Z|&
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the Sw'?$j^3
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half s#ZH.z@J
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 9YhsJ~"Q
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this \S@6@ UGv
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been 7gcG|kKT
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in
9zd/5|W
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). d?Cl04
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US @x
+#ZD(
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 I
q \oB
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ' qE
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back < Q) }
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs mM>|fHGA
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living Xs@ ^D,
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be \'*`te:{
expected to increase further. K~T\q_ZPZ
