INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA M
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RICHARD LYNN e X6o7a
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland xxwbX6^d
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Fk9]u^j
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of YMVi7D~;Q$
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a GVfRy@7n
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of W8r"dK
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation %e)?Mem
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 1(RRjT9
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Ya(3Z_f+VZ
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the J'tJY% `
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed &Pc.[k
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally H )CoByaj
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of m/,80J8L+f
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies Yq4nmr4
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean hT `&Xb
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained oTx>oM,
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature b"nkF\P@Fj
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by
?@kz`BY
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 C](djkA$
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. $4qM\3x0,
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids wQ[!~>A
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the B I=5
7
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 9+/D\|"{
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the fRq+pUxU
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high \HG4i/V:h
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been MWK)Bn
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 1_l)$"
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be rhZp
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. /a)^)
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial 6/ T/A+u
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become N(3Bzd)
available and are the subject of this report. :qzhkKu
METHOD 'Gamb+[
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ^bfU>02Q6p
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. PZO.$'L|7
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a H328I}7
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from Cl3L)
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given \DWKG~r-%
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables t=|}?lN<
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile MZxU)QW1
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the Qvel#*-4
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ]7oo`KcQ|
RESULTS 72_+ b
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for kD7'BP/#
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ydj*Jy'
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is TjI&8#AWBA
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 5NhAb$q2Y
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the '-Oh$hqCx|
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to S9ic4rcd
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British W39J)~D^@
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the .v+
W>
British standardisation sample. Z^=(9:
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH u J]uz%
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD a .?AniB0
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 2.]d~\
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means R&g&BF
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. RLzqpE<rJ
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of (bpRX$is
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white pp(?rE$S
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an $!TMS&Wk
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 o*2Mjd]r
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean teC/Uf5
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by (44L8)I.D
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater uy~$
:0o
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically ]w0Y5H "
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 3Bvz& `\
DISCUSSION BPm")DMo
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in Y3s8@0b3
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States +XW1,ly~
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically atw*t1)g
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low (`4&Y-
living standards in China. j}`ku9S~
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- E7hs+Mh
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by WFhppi
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than 1ox#hQBoS
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & :ln?PT
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the O(v>\MV
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half Ts3!mjn
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 f`_{SU"3
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this @&%/<|4P5
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been "]Uj _d
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in w'XSkI_ay
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). />pAZa
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US f8V
)nM+v"
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 <:T/hm$
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and .o,-a >jL
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back hh5h \ZI%
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs dLeos9M:
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living <a&xhG}
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be m,J
IId%O
expected to increase further. D:?"Rf{)