INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA > =Jsv
RICHARD LYNN t~ -J %$
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland i-,'.w
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Bq *[c=(2
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of C,.-Q"juH
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a u^l*5F%DK
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of xo(k?+P>.
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation _e_4Q)z-a
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. z`OkHX*+2|
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples s{ =5-:
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the H-Pq!9[DB
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed Pw= 3PvkL
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally +5-]iKh
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of lj*8mS/;h
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies [yC"el6PM
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean 8^y= H=
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained [7RheXO<
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature
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on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by ]/_G-2.R
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ~Zmi(Ra
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. v{.\iIg N
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids M\dO({o
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the &
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intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest b~j~
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the FZpsL-yx^N
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Evkt_vvf
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been %[XY67A3I
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn EMhr6</
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ge$LIsE8
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. .liyC~YW
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial ]%Y\ZIS
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become Ra0=q4vdk
available and are the subject of this report. 9\>sDSCx
METHOD 9k}<F z"^.
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by !y%+GwoW
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. n26>>N
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a l
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from _jmkl
B
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given gH'_ymT=
3
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables JR)/c6j
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile a1|c2kT
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 7
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United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). .EG*+,
RESULTS 7WP%J-
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for UW/N MjK
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which |Ytg
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is }%x}fu#
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the gfm;xT/y
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the y@
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percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to .gq(C9<B[
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British sQtf,e|p
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the $3 4j6;oN
British standardisation sample. 5qRc4d'
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH xg} ug[
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD lbS?/f
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 5>P7]?U.]
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means 4>YU8/Rw
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. qOi5WX6F/
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of |!Fk2Je,
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white U*qNix
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an )\0q_a
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 7@IFp~6<qK
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by )v1CC..
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater /l6\^Xf{
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically Q&PB]D{
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. `NSy"6{Z
DISCUSSION &bLC(e]
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in sP y2/7Wqd
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States f>z`i\1oO
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically } L <,eV
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low U` hfvTi
living standards in China. .LObOR5J7
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- \?&Au
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by @!<d0_dnC
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than UiIF6-ZZ!
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & YjLe(+WQ
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the +
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half (Y2mmd
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 sT`^ljp4
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this jTfi@5aPY
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ?'wsIH]m
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in m?;$;x~Dj
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). ;v_V+t<$
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US k"
YHsn
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 ej52AK7
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and %b=p< h'(
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 4LsHs
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs xnbsg!`;7W
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living %iJ|H(P
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be JKy#j g:#
expected to increase further. e:OyjG5_