INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA uN\9cQ
RICHARD LYNN @i)tQd!s
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ;Ok11wOw
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore !J6s^um
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of }5] s+m
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a wA~Nfn
^
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Y+=@5+G
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation 'FUPv61()
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. r2H'r
,N
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples gCm?nb)
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the MK[spV
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed +NXj/
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ev guw*u
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of [
$"iO#oO
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies X"1<G3m4
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean d,)F #;^5
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained O@=mN*<gg0
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature g*tLqV
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by <m6I)}K
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 <zDe;&
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 25~$qY_
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids }.gg!V'9w
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the h.Dk>H_G
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest .N+xpxdG,
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the z~Pmh%b
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high /Bwea];^Q
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been #b" IX`5
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn fVN}7PH7+
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 7kwG_0QO
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. '
R@<4Ib|
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial /pge 7P
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become (7wR*vO^
available and are the subject of this report. Y3zO7*-@
METHOD AeJM[fCMa
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by q-3KF
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. 1Ev+':%
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a jN<]yhqf
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from RYhdf
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 2b"5/$|6
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables bn(Scl#@K
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile !KlSw,&=.6
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the nRE}F5k
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). JX/d;N7a
RESULTS
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for &4%J35~
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ^#Y6
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 'OihA^e
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the jh?7+(Cw
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the &+^
# `nq
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to RtW5U8
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British `x#~-
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the uE|[7,D7;u
British standardisation sample.
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH t/D
Q<B_
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Zn} )&Xt
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. &Egn`QU
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means :hr@>Y~r
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. }n7e_qy4
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of m{5$4v,[
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white xXYens}
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an <&Uk!1Jd
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 A_fU
7'B
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean V$_0VN'+Z
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by G7202(w
<
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 1c4%g-]7
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically #<e7 Y0
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. j`GbI0,bT
DISCUSSION v}Nx*%
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in Gehl/i-
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States JS:lysu
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically $P@cS1sB
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low &e)p6Egl
living standards in China. xq)/ QR
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ,Df36-74v5
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by ,Ex\\p-
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than :58'U|
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & UKBMGzu2:
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the e ^qnUjMy
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half WuQYEbap
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 MGz>
,c^wW
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this &zd7t6
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been .0-m=3mp2
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in &; skB.
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). /t^lI%&
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US Y_B 4s-
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 k$ M4NF~$
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and S- \lN|
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back {.OoOqq9
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 3# (5Kco
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living _Kj.
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be .:raeDrd
expected to increase further. Iz8^?>X