INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA >ukQ, CE~
RICHARD LYNN U;
pe:
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland VRF6g|0;
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Pxqiv9D<R
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of FN!1|'VK
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a IM=+3W;ak
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of ab@=cL~^
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation W^k,Pmopy
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ;Xu22fKh
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples UOt8Q0)}
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the @\jQoaLT$_
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed # $~ oe"
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally Bc<n2 C0
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of k;Hnu
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 88 l,&2q
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean oRq3 pO}f
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained ! Mo`^t
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 1"YpO"Rh
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by Y@%`ZPJ
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 #ib^Kg
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. ;&
|qSa'
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Za%LAyT_s
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the {cR=N~_EO
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest +/y]h0aa
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the B |&F%P0:
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high +c) TDH
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been )xt4Wk/
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn ne*#+Q{E
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be bi$VAYn.^
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. @5E,:)T*wR
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial u-szt ? O|
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become % O%xpSYr
available and are the subject of this report. #\ #3r
METHOD 41yOXy ;~l
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by
\
bold"
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. J633uH}}
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 7W|Zq6pi
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from k':s =IXW
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given .6m_>Y6
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables cDeZMsV
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile utH%y\NMF|
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the .S7:;%qL6
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ;LQ9#M
?
RESULTS \$pkk6Q3,w
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for [PWL<t::c
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which :YNp8!?T?
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is lhO2'#]i
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the R ]P;sk5
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the {/|qjkT&W
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ARWZ; GX
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 6 P*O&1
hv
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 6Dst;:
British standardisation sample. vv+J0f^
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH TzKK;(GX
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD n8u*JeN
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. d!V$Y}n
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means bfdVED
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ]JMl|e
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of y@;%Uv&
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white O('Nn]wo~9
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 5I' d PNf
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 mCdgKr|n
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 6(KmA-!b(O
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by )yj:PY]
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Mu2`ODe]
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically IzUo0D*@
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant.
Q9sl fQ
DISCUSSION pM2a(\K,k^
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in P^i.La,
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Gx'TkU=
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically f Iy]/
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low iM5vrz`n
living standards in China. h}&b+1{X
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- H~o <AmE0!
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by X+l'bp]Ry
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than c!wtf,F
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & .'d2J> ~N
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the %Q~CB7ILK
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half .Dw,"VHP
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 tsv$ r$Se
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this .=<$S#x^Hb
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been KDTDJ8
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in _~M^ uW^l
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). yZ3nRiuRT
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US ST;t,
D:
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 1mH\k5xu
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and JE;+T[I
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back Z<"K_bj
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs CDdkoajBa
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 4l @)K9F
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be dR
+1aY;
expected to increase further. |/T43ADW