INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA PY[nnoF"|
RICHARD LYNN Ejmpg_kux
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland P`^nNX]x+,
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore <v%Q|r
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of 1N,</<"
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Phr+L9Eog
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of ZwM(H[iqL
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation \(C6|-:GY
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. c~SR@ZU
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ;X , A|m$(
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the MR}=tO
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed K|]/BjB
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally I;FHjnn(
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of x. 8fxogz
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 508v:?^'
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean )\Am:?RH;
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained "Doz~R\\
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ~wvu7
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by -%,=%FBi~4
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 7_HFQT1.N
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. g%TOYZr!X
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids {OIB/
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the evjj~xkte
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 1
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the kntYj}F(
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high l|v`B6(
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been 9e
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determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn WUrE1%u
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be I'}&s|6
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. a5caryZ"z
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial !Ah v07SI
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become #x*\dL
available and are the subject of this report. HAwdu1$8
METHOD $t0o*i{
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by H%pD9'q~
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. XlLG/N
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a wDR/Vr"f
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from SMonJ;Y
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given o, PpD,,
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 4
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile {^8?fJ/L
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the CVE(N/&b
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). 2ci[L:U
RESULTS %tB7 &%ut
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for Np7+g`nG
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Q<0X80w>
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is ]n}aePl}oU
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the pmRm&VgE.
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the V_zU?}lZ^
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 0RgE~x!hI
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 5\V""fH
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the s@zO`uBc
British standardisation sample. fJOwE
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH K
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD qF\w#nG
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. Wn2'uZ5If
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means qA0PGo
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. r3qKT
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of !#d5hjoX
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white ^hNl6)hR
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 9HB+4q[
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 xpX<iT>5u
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean #lR-?Uh
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by Qo32oT[DM
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater _iu~vU)r
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 'Fy"|M;2
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 1oe,>\\
DISCUSSION CFC15/yU
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in ZLP/&`>8
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States `*6|2
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically F/ x2}'
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ClG\Kpirh
living standards in China. kMJ}sS
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- R:4@a ':H
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by /yHjds
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than JkhW LQ>o
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ,p{naT%R
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the }{y)a<`
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half %_."JT$v{
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 KRz~3yH{c
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this OClG dFJ|
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been q
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in hC[=e`j
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). aVCPaYe^
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 1w~PHH`~
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Z_[ P7P
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and 4sRM"w;
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back Unvl~lm6
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 63'm
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ?VlGTMaS+
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be Ge_fU'F
expected to increase further. @R%*; )*F