INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 4u;9J*r4
RICHARD LYNN J:*-gwv9*m
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 4,Ic}Cv
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore YZf6|
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ~&dyRtW4
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a )!bUR\
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of (2ot5x}`j
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ZP\M9J
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. tRb]7 z
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples friWW^
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the C4$:mJ>y
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed SLL3v,P(7
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally DOS0;^f
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies \Q?ip&R
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean hwYQGtjF
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained {7hLsK[])
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature d*8 $>GA
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by H`hnEOyLp
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 OR1DYHHT/1
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. JuR"J1MY
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids _gj&$zP
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the Vv.r8IGYm
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest G3P&{.v
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the S[3iA~)Z-
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high c_grPk2O4
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been K)tQ]P
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn >et-{(G
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be %]gTm7
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. CqMhk
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial en S}A*Io
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become zE T^T5>:
available and are the subject of this report. (& "su3z
METHOD {
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9
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by t_z>Cl^u
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. H9XvO
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a IY'=DePd
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from K7knK
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 3rW|kkn
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables hg.#DxRi{
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile $``1PJoi
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 7,qYV}
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). ?Ea;J0V
RESULTS +j_;(Gw7
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for a]17qMl
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which f
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is )>
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possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the .~A*=
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 5^<h}u9
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to B(a-k?
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 8H,4kY?Z
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the tsOrt3
British standardisation sample. ?lGG|9J\
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH jdZ~z#`(!:
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD C&LB
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. -&x2&WE'
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means RcG0 8p.)
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. P9Yy9_a|x
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of 'VyM{:8
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white mYN7kYR}<`
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an
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American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 h`
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean e1(Q(3
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 1d"Z>k:mn
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater >2$5eI
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically Ei}/iBG@
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. zLs|tJOVp
DISCUSSION G'2#9<c*
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in RoA?p;]<
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States >WJf=F`_H
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically :bV mgLgG
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low 9O`
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living standards in China. l:0s2
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- {^mNJ
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by 6oaazB^L
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than $E<Esf$
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & omO
S=d!o
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the o+`6LKg;
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half y.5/?{GL
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 .;y#
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this <U5wB]]
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been oF9
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in y
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the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). ]w T 7*( Y
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US lt^\
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Ac
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US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and B[=(#W
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ~vmdXR`'T
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs (fNUj4[
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living fx=Awba
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be !-2R;yo12
expected to increase further. 'w>_+jLT