INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA ` 6PdMvF
RICHARD LYNN cYK3>p
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland MOXDR
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore O:4.xe
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ,Ao8QN
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a d:3G4g
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of @AJt/wPk
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation v
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 6H@=O1W
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples HghNI
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 1r$q $\
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed Hc71 .rqS
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally J}BS/Tr}=
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of JHcC}+H[
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies _|3n h;-m
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean b1-JnEc
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained UhNeY{6
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature h<[ o;E
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by a4?:suX$
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 H'+P7*k#M
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 6 LC*X
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ,{$:Q}`
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the YQ&Xd/z-
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest US-P>yF
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the >>p3#~/
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high "[76>\'H
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been X=lOwPvP
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn Y>r9"X|&H
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be Zx@{nVoYe~
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. k z<We/
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial R ~#\gMs
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become N/(&&\3
available and are the subject of this report. Ef69]{E
METHOD ;L|%H/SH
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 9k1n-p
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Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. p tMysYT'
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a t ;(kSg.
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from .- {B
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given Pl
U!-7
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables o@}Jd0D4
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile z"|^Y|`m
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the P'[w9'B
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). C;_10Rb2ut
RESULTS A >Js`s
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for Eg>MG87
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 7tJPjp4l
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is Jjv,
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possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the F9N)UW:w
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the !9B)/Xi
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ]w({5i
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British |+%K89W
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the OPar"z^EV
British standardisation sample. |iJ37QIM
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH \59+JLmP4
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD dF"Sz4DY#
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. G0^NkH,k
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means W,:*`
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British.
k/Z}nz
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of F]xo *
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white UW!!!
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an V#zDYrp
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 1qtu,yIf
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean ygh*oVHO
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by nI&Tr_"tm
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater D{~I
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically C,.$g>)MZK
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. kP3'BBd,
DISCUSSION zgV{S
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in :`25@<*u
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States \f.ceh;!
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically wUab)L
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low !h4L_D0
living standards in China. ^8-CUH\
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- <^{|5u
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by qlO(z5Ak
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than {x
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Z3)1!|#Q
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the Ry8@U9B6,t
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half J"# o #~
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15
6s@'z<Ct
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this |\J8:b>}
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been 8sLp! O;f2
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in UT%^!@u
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). wjDLsf,
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US h5>JBLawQP
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 t0(1qFi
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and m
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ;
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at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs /2 ')u|
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living &^92z:?
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be -:&qNY:Vp
expected to increase further. 4gzrxV