INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA C?J%^?v
RICHARD LYNN YG|T;/-
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 7]
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore YWdvL3Bgk,
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of `w}"0+V
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a oPV"JGa/B4
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of CSs6Vm!=
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation _!D$Aj
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 2;tp>,G9d
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples t~M_NEPxV
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the |szfup~5es
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed BcWReyO<M
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 4 n(
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been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ,%^0 4sl
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies w5Z3e^g
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Wov_jVdN\
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained + u+fEg/A
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature WBdb[N6\
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by cm<3'#~Q?
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 !{LwX Kf
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. pcG
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids dWSH\wm+
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the xg&vZzcl
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest v]>(Ps )R
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the j.*}W4`Q_
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high M`F L&Ac
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been y.2 SHn0
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 04TV./uA
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 8Sa<I.l
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. .nJGxz+X"
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial (@9-"W
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 3i1>EjML
available and are the subject of this report. j7zQ&ANF
METHOD #c_ZU\"h"
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by AnQRSB (
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. vbU{Et\^
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a .#}R$}e+
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from i\b2P2
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given sj~'.Zs%
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ~Gza$ K
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile {s]eXc]K}
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the r+2dBp3
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). '
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RESULTS jLg4_N1SD
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for .u&g2Y
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 5Ml}m
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is
W:G*t4i
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Yy]Henw;
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 4{&
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 4k8 @u
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Bdi~B")
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the K[H$qJmPX
British standardisation sample. XR(kR{yo
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH c2QC`h(Wb
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD H{If\B%1t
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. SV >EB;<
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means 2Qy&V/E ?
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British.
fQdQ[
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of RY&~{yl$"1
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white q.4DwY5 L
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an TaH9Nu
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 GzX@Av$
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean ,==lgM2V>
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ~?FKww|_*J
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater MG|NH0k
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically qmGB~N|N
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 6IA
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DISCUSSION 1?;s!6=
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in \}5\^&}_
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 0FBifK
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically @NZ?D0"
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low nBd;d}LD
living standards in China. E*zk?G|
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi-
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ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by q:2aPfo&
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than TXd5v#_vo
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & oeu|/\+HW
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the daA47`+d
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half {8!ZKlB
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 rR,+G%[(=4
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this KJ0xp hf
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been (^DLCP#*
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in WA]%,6
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990).
JVUZ}#O
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US >bX-!<S
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 b(.-~c('
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and nJtEUVMt
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back H-/; l54E
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 9S:{
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 7d|*postv
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be Ism^hyL
expected to increase further. fCt^FU