INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 6 DD^h:*>
RICHARD LYNN lz
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland R:x4j#(
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore iDlIx8PI
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of tfvX0J
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ,<%Y.x%4z[
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of y'xB? >|
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Byyus[b'A
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 3zp)!QJi
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ej4 7'#EY
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the Y<X%'Wd\
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed g4&zBn
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally li8l+5d q
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of o8BbSZVu
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 1j# ~:=I
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean !v<r=u
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained K&
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a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature Zaf] .R
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by abuHu'73
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 L{ ?& .iA
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Il%LI
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids wy<m&M<Gr
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the mfQQ<Q@
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest AtYe\_9$C
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the %Y
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homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high ;#
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intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been gfw,S;
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn /_l%Dm?
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be "2}04b|"
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. n>)CCf@H
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial rJ]iJ0[I
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become `+1+0?9
available and are the subject of this report. 1bF aQ50t
METHOD vUR{!`14
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by [Pi8gj*
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. XL >Vwd
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 5Az=)q4Q
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ?ah-x""Y
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given bv5,Yk
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ^E
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile D)8&v`LS
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the /$'tO3
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). .%<oy"_
RESULTS 1mgLH
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for $)vljM<<
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ez&v"J
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is F:x" RbbF
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the |8c3%jve
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the SfyZ,0
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to
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American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British }H!c9Y
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the n'v[[bmu
British standardisation sample. $SRpFz5y$
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH a[]=*(AZI
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. *oL?R2#7
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Bjq1za
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. RlyF#X#7{
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of (Ybc~M)z
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white }|%dN*',
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an EA|*|o4)
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 >y"W(
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 2HoTj|
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by cjHo?m'
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 9TBkVbqV
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically IkFrzw p
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. zJ93EtlF
DISCUSSION Bab`wfUve
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in jxL}tS{j
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States E#v}//
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically =LDzZ:' X
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low lPSyFb"
living standards in China. TDs=VTd@Z
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- [U]U *x
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by /T]2ZX>
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than _(5SiK R
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & /qed_w.p
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the / @X!
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half aB0L]i
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 .C$S
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this T=(/n=
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been w&hgJ
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 4Pe%*WTX
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). *BH*
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US @AaM]?=P{
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 $[T^S
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and E?z3 D*U
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back *%7 [{Loz
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs " JFx
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living NE,2jeZQ .
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be P {i\x#
expected to increase further. ?>cx;"xF