INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA X6Nm!od'
RICHARD LYNN }* B qi7E>
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 43u PH1
)
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore n<%=~1iY+
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of R%)2(\
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 5y[b8mur
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of J+cAS/MYX
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation j""y2c1
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. C{`^9J-
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 4l%?mvA^m
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the "doU.U&u
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed tJ
h3$K\
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally .e FOfV)
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 3!"b
guE
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies KT
lP:pB;
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Oa.f~|
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained |`k1zc)9
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature D*XZT{1g
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by p(
H)W
D
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 PV]k3&y
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. $||ns@F+
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids "%
}Gy>;
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the X #p o|,Q
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest lC /Hib
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the nqurY62Ip
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high qr'x0r|<>
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been e\^g|60f_
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn [V2omSZo
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be z)ft3(!
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. C)J_lI{^
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial GTp?)nh^
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 2Z/][?Jj{
available and are the subject of this report. n{
.*El>{
METHOD `bZ2x@
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by M|[@znzR<
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. kyRh k\X
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 409x!d~it
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 5D]30
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given cXOje"5i
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 2
|0Qk&
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile bRK CY6
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the ]F"(OWW
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). q:2aPfo&
RESULTS z<yNG/M1>U
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for WbC0H78]
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which [V> :`?
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 7Ykj#"BZ
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the -TK|Y"
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 3WO#^}t
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to &O+sK4P
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British {?@t/.4[W3
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 55>" R{q
British standardisation sample. h V|v6 _
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH TbKP8zw{
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD I=4Xv<F
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ~),;QQ,
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means H)`C ncB
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. >bX-!<S
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of l50|`
6t
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white k9^+9P^L
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an nJtEUVMt
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ,Lt~u_ lve
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean QD.zU/F~>
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ( Lok
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater []A"]p
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically inr%XS/m
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant.
!fQJL
DISCUSSION ?AeHVQ
:C
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in DD12pL{QA
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States H )BOSZD
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically zp7V\W;
&
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ;NiArcAS!
living standards in China. iA55yT+
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Ie G7@
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by QMXD9H0{
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 4|zdXS
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & e5qrQwU
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the wMH[QYb<*
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half u%6Irdx
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 {h/OnBwG
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this Xmap9x
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been lj
"Z
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 0On?{Bw
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). p3M#XC_H
]
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US Cec9#C
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 kfMhw M8kP
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Z&+NmOY4
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back TIcd
_>TW
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ZdE>C
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living zuC 58B
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be #dva0%-1
expected to increase further.
sBP}n.#$