INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA bN=P*hdf
RICHARD LYNN IvNT6]6 P
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland $Z>'Jp
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore (QiAisE
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of Y|/ 8up
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 51.%;aY~z
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of UL9n-M=
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation YHl;flv
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. :fJN->wY^s
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples TJ*T:?>e
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ;9'OOz|+1
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed :MDKC /mC
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally lr$zHI7_`
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ]JR +ayk7
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ABYcH]m
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean `QY)!$mUIF
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained >C~6\L`c
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature d0 /#nz
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by 8JUwf
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Ht&YC<X
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. .o}v#W+st
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids `qwBn=
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the I*^Ta{j[
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest .tr!(O],h
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the {Hk}Kow
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 3
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intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been >5SSQ\ 2~a
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn HLi%%"'
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be >KKMcTO
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. %N_%JK\{@
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial Yoll?_k
+
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 9MqGIOQ${j
available and are the subject of this report. )=-szJjXZ
METHOD E<*xx#p
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by xe$_aBU
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. Vf1^4t
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a a-J.B.A$Z/
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from Q=dy<kg']
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given k==h|\|
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables [1H^3g
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ?Ss!
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equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the |vzl. ^"-
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). \lNN Msd&
RESULTS PmM3]xVzd
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for Z5]>pJFq,
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which |e0`nn=
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is QSf|nNT
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the r,2g^K)6
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the K"@M,8hb
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 3T0"" !Q
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British '}#9)}x!
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 2 8u_!f[
British standardisation sample. t.C5+^+%
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH UR5`ue ;
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 9(<@O%YU
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. {+ b7sA3
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means J4U1t2@)9
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 9-m=*|p
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of /z $u]X
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white ;]:@n;c\
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an ^LzF@{ G
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 l}M!8:UzU
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean h!9ei6
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by S$XSei_q
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Srd4))2/0
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically G .4X'
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ,9
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DISCUSSION 5Jnlz@P9
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in |(^PS8wG
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 6D_D' ;o
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically <ZR9GlIr
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ZSm3 XXk
living standards in China. UkGCyGyZ[
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- oe~b}:
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by Y\'}a+:@Ph
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than w@fi{H(R
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Y`wSv NU
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ?|Zx!z ($
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half Jj%K=sw
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 sW8dPw
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this Ilm^G}G
B
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been Yu2Bkq+
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in UJ6v(:z<
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). "-V"=t'
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US uFga~g
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Nmh*EAJSy
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Eu04e N
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ]')RMg zM*
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs JOBhx)E
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living vs{s_T7Mz]
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be {H'Y `+
expected to increase further. 0+b1vhQ