INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 1'R]An BV
RICHARD LYNN 4iRcmsP
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland XJC|6"n
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore X|7
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of -JaC~v(0
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ;->(hFJt
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Bh"o{-$p8`
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation 4{X5ZS?CkI
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. %g
Jf&A
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples !V$m!i;
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the :Y0*P
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed :u
`
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally |JSj<~1ki
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of /{d7%Et6
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies R.!'&<Svq
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ; a XcGa
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained Q~#udEajI
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 5"c#OU
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by
/'u-Fr(Q+
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 K]oFV
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 65\'(99yU
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids QK%{\qu
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the gE0k|Z(RF
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ;
GRSe
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the /^i7^
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high uYhm
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intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been 7*M+bZ`x
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn !BP/#
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be SQ]&nDd
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. `Ou\:Iz0u
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial hoD (G X
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 7d]}BLpjWz
available and are the subject of this report. ; ob>$ _
METHOD Im+<oZ
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ga?.7F
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. PiMh]
0
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a /^G1wz2
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from BYyR-m
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given H@qA
X
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile x/#*M
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the >> Z.]
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ,Za!
RESULTS
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for fDNiU"
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which tz)aQ6p\X
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is c-z
,}`
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 9sFZs]uM
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the CbVU z<
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to Z[RE|l{
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British t)=
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children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the p2GkI/6)uu
British standardisation sample. 200/
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 6FiI\
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD '0[D-jEr
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. '
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It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means .EM0R\
q
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. JZNRMxu
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of U
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white B?`Gs^Y{z
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an Pb]: i+c)
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 3J32W@}.K
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean >u
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obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ?]]>WP
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater <xKer<D
%
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 7](,/MeGG
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. a"EX<6"
DISCUSSION -uIu-a]
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 7;jwKA;k
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States fr#Y<=Jo
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically }KEyJj3"DA
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low GF*8(2h2
living standards in China.
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- |,cQJ
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by T
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middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than n#Q ;bSw
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & +)h *)
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the 2w>WS#
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half c3W9"
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 'X d_8.
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this WUm83"
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been 'c*Q/C;
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 6oMU) DIa
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). =&;orP
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US qT$;ZV
#
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 !}<d6&!py
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and
s!X@ l
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back \
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at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs rG|lRT3-K
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living NGcd
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be w=Ac/12
expected to increase further. c>#T\AEkF