INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 7dg
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RICHARD LYNN :J4C'N
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland C@?e`=9(
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore &A5[C{x
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of BE2\? q-
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a seD+~Y\z
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of FO'.
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation x]d"|jmVZ
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 'xrbg]b%
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Ff#N|L'9_
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the Dgq[g_+l
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed milK
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ubC JZ"!
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of jf)JPa_
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies rW%'M#!
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of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean E Pd.atA
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained tSXjp
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature P2:Q+j:PX
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by f s"V'E2a
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 <T_Nlar^^
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 8JFkeU%yO
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ;k41+O:f@
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the vV
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intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest %k;FxUKi
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the wgR@M[]o;
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high M"$RtS|h
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been K[|P6J
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn L pi_u
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be bQN4ozSi
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. I{g2q B$6
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial $
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for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become sImxa`kb
available and are the subject of this report. 08jUVHdt
METHOD
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by K?O X
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. k;:u| s8NS
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a j
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from kFa?q}47
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given ^nm!NL{z^
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables cV!/
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile Jp*AIj
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the owY_cDzrH
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). l<K.!z<-:8
RESULTS JK8@J9(#
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for k&"qdB(I
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which MVL }[ J
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is $Q$d\Yvi
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the ']6#7NU
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the B?YfOSF=5
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to fm:{&(
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British cCbr-Z&
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ?oDfI
British standardisation sample. G-i_s6Wu
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH -K'84 bZ
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Y)5uK:)^
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. .idl@%
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means ]aW.b_7<9
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. MLIQ 8=
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of /G{3p&9
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white i K[8At"Xo
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an &fy8,}
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 B)cb}.N:
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean .Zt/e>K&
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by [c!vsh]^
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater "N/K*
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically ZG[0rvW
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ~V-
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DISCUSSION QEHZ=Yg%3
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in <C`eZ}Qqv
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 5sCky)N
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically +#db_k
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low gLxyRbVI
living standards in China. ;WAu]C|
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- gGdYh.K&e5
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by x
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middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ?d#(ian
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & wkpVX*DfRE
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the |Gs-9+'y
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half (X7yNIPfA
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 adE0oXQH"
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this :@ 8.t,|
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ,Y5 4(>>%
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in .&Gtw
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the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). ZXDMbMD
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US zr9Pm6Rl
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 @dKf]&h%%
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and 3
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back RkV3_c
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ]~M{@h!<
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ^t%M
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be ^A<.s_
expected to increase further. l45F*v]^