INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA }1|FES
RICHARD LYNN jZ0/@zOf
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland QPX3a8w*
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore q>m[vvt"
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of |N0RBa4%
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a zKQXmyO
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of w01u~"E
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation hw1J <Pl*
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. r85j/YK
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Ebp=du
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the LZ8xh
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed %UB+N8x`a
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally !=?Q>mz
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of yJ?=HH?
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies X<d`!,bn@
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean |u.3Tp|3W
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained \9 k3;zw
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature .[o`TlG%
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by Hl
z$@[$
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 wu3p2#-Z
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. !H(V%B%
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids r#w.yg4EX
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the \R,8xID_t
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest :Fi$-g
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the *l)}o4-$
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high _ .xicov
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been `.F3&pA
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn .50ql[En
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be r[P+F
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ?&bB?mg\
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial ivvm.7{
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ;O {"\H6
available and are the subject of this report. Ph17(APt,Q
METHOD v\R-G
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by V82hk0*j
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. '~E=V:6
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a iZ 9ed]mf
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from <%m$
V5h
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given sV`p3L8pl
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables zd3^
k<
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile AdWP
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 0F<$Zbe2B
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). s,~g| I\
RESULTS YXDuhrs}
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for Bh7dAV(
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Na<);Pg
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is MI>_wG5P@
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the
Wux[h8G
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the w\ddC DZ
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to L/)Q1Mm
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British RP%FMb}nt
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the V L
;<+C~
British standardisation sample. \Z_29L w=
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH [{6fyd;
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Z<`:xFy(
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. I~
e,']
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means (f
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. #NWS)^&1b
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of |9]_<X[ic
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white |b+CXEzo
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an a7"Aq:IjU
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ;ibOd
~
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean %VS+?4ww
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by > mEB,
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater T=VBKaSbU
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically n4 o}}tI
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 0?=a$0_C
DISCUSSION {`V ^V_
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in U3|9a8^H
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Sw`+4
4
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically okH*2F(-
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low $t.M`:G
living standards in China. u6iX&%e
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Nq#B4Zx
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by %jxeh.B3B
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than A }d\ND
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ?cB26Zrcb
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ageTv/
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half NZZc
[P
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 (1Klj+"p%
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this ^AC2 zC
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been y0,>_MS
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in FBS]U$1
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). !_>o2
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US `(
_N9.>B
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 [BFPIVD)h]
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and i
lwI qj
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back z,(.` %h
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs &[kFl\
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living :i*
=s}cv
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be j>#ywh*A
expected to increase further. 5-POYug