INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA n]`]gLF\i
RICHARD LYNN #UoFU{6tM
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland {?0'(D7.
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore I
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of t;6<k7h
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a N%}J:w
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of [`b,SX
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation SsTBjIX
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. v_EgY2l(
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ,v
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have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 19qHWU^0V
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed ">CRFee0
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally D]fuX|f~ul
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 4KtD
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies kY\faWuR
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean PdqvXc
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained j \jMN*dmV
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature $<nRW*d
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by [*p;+&+/ZM
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 VsL,t\67
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. hmo4H3g!N
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids jI7 x<=
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the L?+N:
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intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest W+1nf:AI.
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the :?\29j#*V
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high H=C~h\me?
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been py:L-5
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn t!Cz;ajNi
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be h~\k;ca
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 3
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial 4X]/8%]V
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 9 da=q
available and are the subject of this report. Lw,}wM
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METHOD Os-Z_zSl6
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by [mu8V+8@d4
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. LYECX
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a m;l[flQ~
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from pNOE
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given Y4 z
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables nplt
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile PiM(QR
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the qsW&kW~
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). YiO}"
RESULTS iKE&yO3
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for syW[uXNLZ
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which )/@KdEA:
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is N^$q;%
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the X^N6s"2
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the XjN=UhC
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 8c-ys-"#
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Z9$pY=8^?
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ]pBEoktp
British standardisation sample. Es7
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 9e
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD GqL&hbpi
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. m_oUl(pk
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means >W] Wc4\
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. \ YF@r7
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of /C Xg$%\
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white S1Y,5,}
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 1[O cZCS
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 ,.p
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean jyW={%&
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 5X)QW5A
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Nuot[1kS
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically l+F29_o#
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. IF6$@Q
DISCUSSION }.)R#hG?
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in _ikKOU^8
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States M?sax+'
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 3]?='Qq.(
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ]NTQF/
living standards in China. G{fPQ=
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- 01-rBto$
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by 4AJT)I.
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 8%m\J:e
R
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Nmz5:Rq
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the aUZ?Ue9l>2
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half t;VMtIW+E
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 lqOpADLS3
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this )jgz(\KZ
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been wi7Br&bGi
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in -c?x5/@3
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). ai$l7]7
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US f|B\Y/*X
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 #)7`}7N
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ^g6v#]&WA
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back /!5ohQlPJ
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs b'+Wf#.]f0
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living `oikSx$vB.
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be KBtqtE'(L
expected to increase further. i=#\`"/