INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA a5k![sw\
RICHARD LYNN p
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland WvoJ^{\4N*
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore j5:
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of F"^/R
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 1F'x$~ZI
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Z~3
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation T;M4NGmvd
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. s~NJ
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Z[G
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have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the gWIb"l
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed g=na3^PL6
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 9dO. ,U*`
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of O<`N0
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies t"$#
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of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Yq-Vwh/
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained o)L)|
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature MqAN~<l [
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by :^En\YcU
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 HkQ rij6
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 01<Ti
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 4T>d%Tt+)
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 0sP*ChY5S
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest Wx` $hvdq
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the "Ng%"Nz
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high )i^S:2
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been grxlGS~Q
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn [9C{\t
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be D & Bdl5g
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. -NPX;e$<
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial iu iVr$E
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become h]vuBHJ}
available and are the subject of this report.
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METHOD 5v[2R.eT-
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by mVd%sWD
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. w }=LC#le
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a NX&Z=ObHu}
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 8b:GyC5L
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given {+^&7JX
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables S}3?
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile S*NeS#!v
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the I]-"Tw
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). s$V
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RESULTS Tg@:mw5
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for 7Tc^}Q
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which | /X+2K}3
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is !!<H*9]+W;
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the "=Cjm`9~j
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the [{q])P;
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to !y&<IT(\4
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British IMSLHwZ
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the {U)q)
British standardisation sample. 0i>>CvAl}
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 0TqIRUz "C
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Q"s]<MtdS
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. or`D-x)+@
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means cB6LJ}R
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. $}t;c62
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of Gm[XnUR7V
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white pS~=T}o
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an BC)1FxsGf
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ?s@=DDB\u
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean IP!`;?T=
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ?$6(@>`f&t
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater +F92_a4
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically > ofWHl[-
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. Xd@ d$
DISCUSSION ROJ=ZYof
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in QKI g5I-
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States /^9=2~b
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically @Yw>s9X
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low \gGTkH
living standards in China. 6Zx)L|B
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- qK)T#sh
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by =<X4LO)C
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than f<;eNN
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & f2?01PM,Q
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the }E^k*S
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half !8I80:e_~
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 }2''}-Nc
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this Y;{(?0
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rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ";Q}Gs}
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in tfdb9#&?
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). X- j@#Qb
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US !}hG|Y6s
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 gLwrYG7@
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ODxCD%L
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 0"l`M5-KP
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs @5h(bL
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living (
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standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be ,0@QBr5P
expected to increase further. GE*%I1?]