INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA Uy{ZK*c8i
RICHARD LYNN AF"
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland R
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore nbSu|sX~r5
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of F ss@/-
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a wL"
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation a O(&<
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00.
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A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples h2ou ]
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the b
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United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed O|0} m
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally -|/*S]6kK
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of *uvE`4V^Jg
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 604^~6
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Hc-Ke1+
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained
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a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature !R1OSVFp
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by p`oHF 5
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ZNY),3?
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. rJc=&'{&)N
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids cmbl"Pqy1
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the u$y5?n|
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest hbTJXP~~?
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the _l&.<nz
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Ct9*T`Gl
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been '=>l& ;
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn "l
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be C:
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. =42NQ{%@;
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial e2MjV8Bs
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ya/pn
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available and are the subject of this report. !v]~ut !p
METHOD Eilo;-E
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by H@ .1cO
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. j9$kaEf
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a hg}R(.1K=
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from #^bn~
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given {$)pkhJ
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ^97\TmzP{
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile Oftjm
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equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the AR5)Uws
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ]Y
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RESULTS {@T<eb$d
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for "AHuq%j
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which MD=!a5'
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is +We=- e7
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 0`"DYJ}d
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the r*W&SU9Z
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ,PZ[CX;H@
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British
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children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Y .\<P*iO
British standardisation sample.
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH NC{8[*Kx5
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD >I;J!{
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. yI_MYL[
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means km9@*@)
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. SSa0x9T
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of jMQ7^(9-
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white >Mk#19j[/
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 3Vb/Mn!k
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 EY'
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean YEhPAQNj
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by t%]b`ad
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater A=pyaU`aE
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically h
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. &3bh K5P
DISCUSSION c"^g*i2&0
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in "0Yb
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 84M*)cKR~
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically F}=O Mo:.
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low U&SgB[QHO
living standards in China. x_.}C
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- .*g^
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ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by CeW}zkcT
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than lyQNE3
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron &
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Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the BMovl4*5
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half :N
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century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 C+Pw
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this _gI1@uQw
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been $5Tjo
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in +"Mlj$O
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). %2EHYBQjN
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 38gEto#q
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 .vhEm6wJUM
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and =1Tn~)^O
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back wb/@g=`d
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs BZAF;j
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living h&m4"HBL_
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be uPBtR
expected to increase further. Q@? {|7: