INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA mE=Ur
RICHARD LYNN artn _
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland NG`Y{QT6N
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore yh/JHo;
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ,!, tU7-H
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a }g@
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of *$5p,m6G
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation M.xZU\'ty
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. :+
mULUi
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples r\cY R}v
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the } '?qUy3x
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed G[*z,2Kb>
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally eY-h<K)y
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of x4/{XRQ
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies V;W{pd-I
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean 6$0<&')Yb
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained @q`T#vd
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 3 yw$<lm
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by tJ7F.}\;C
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 oaZdvu@y
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. `
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Y9gw
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the VR .t
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ;l1.jQh
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the SME9hS$4
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 9]{va"pe7
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been as'yYn8
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 4l{$dtKbI
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ?"^{:~\N
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ak-agH
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial Mna
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for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become p_
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available and are the subject of this report. 8;L;R~Q
METHOD xXc>YTK'
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by (@qPyM6~}
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. &CcW(-
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a m"-kkH{I
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ~o/k?l
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given
WzoI0E`
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables h@Jg9AM
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 7r50y>
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the :b*7TJ\grN
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). OrYN-A4{
RESULTS q7<d|s
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for `qYii
c%
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Hq+QsplG
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 3HBh
3p5
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the e&2,cQRFV
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the )[J@s=
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to
&AOGg\
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British W/%hS)75
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the }6BXa
British standardisation sample. }*U|^$FEU
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 1r};cY6
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD tGgDS)
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. / Y od
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means fm@Pa} ,
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. {%CW!Rc
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of a5R.
\a<q
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white U[|5:qWs
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an x=IZ0@p
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 h_{f_GQ"
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean tjwnFqI
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by wJ pb$;
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater L"/?[B":
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 6^t#sEf
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. U<Tv<7`
DISCUSSION IC5QH<.$C
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in O_7}H)
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ?AD-n6
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically %)r:!R~R
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low $8i`h}AM
living standards in China. (# mvDz
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- <ch}]-_
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by ;HH%OfQq
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ;Ce?f=4
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 39hep8+
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the oH
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half h]L.6G|hEN
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 #HH[D
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this t$%<eF@w
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been k*n~&y: O
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in ,(a~vqNQW3
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). FwlDP
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US [qW%H,_
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 qJ(uak
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and |!9xL*A
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 5'eBeNxM
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Q(cLi:)X2
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living H8I)D& cw
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be _/z_
X
expected to increase further. rAAx]nQ@