INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA h.edb6
RICHARD LYNN 0V:H/qu8>
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland (VeK7cU
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore T#ls2UL*xh
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of -8 uS#
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ,b*?7R
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of B!wN%>U
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation _%e8GWf
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. $94lF~
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples =A'>1N
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the
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United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed tgF~5
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 2FMmANH0ev
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of t<45[~[
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 3"h*L8No
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean GW AT0
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained &<t%u[3
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature &;DCN
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by t]h_w7!U
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Rw?w7?I
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. I~&*^q6 |
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids o%_-u
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the K(+=V)'Dz
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest s<!A<+Sh
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the A(2 0+
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high L^JU{\C
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been 9^a|yyzL
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn ZFtx&vrP
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be `=(<!nXJx
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. E=I'$*C\D
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial L1SX2F8
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become bBi>BP=
available and are the subject of this report. w){B$X
METHOD D_l$"35?
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by }b4 56J
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. LeCc`x,5
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a A%^?z.
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ,;pUBrz/[
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given Y/sav;
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables vFUp$[
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile j9fBl:Fr
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the "Hw%@]#
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). p/{%%30ke
RESULTS "yu{b]AU
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for NfoHQU<n
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Qw0k-t0=4
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is ?/.])'&b
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the
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age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the *y4DK6OFe
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to HZ9 >4G3
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British BZ?w}%-MO
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the u`XRgtI{g?
British standardisation sample. QNb
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH
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AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD V D#q\
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 5iw\F!op:
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means & DP"RWT/
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 9C7Npf?~M
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of sX"L\v
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white <Y`(J#
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an mnA_$W3~I
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 /dCsZA
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean v?He]e'
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by uuM1_nD[
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater F$UL.`X
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than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically _
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. OLx;j+p
DISCUSSION O C&BJNOi
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in 1K/HVj+'.
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States *$9U/ d
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically f&vMv.
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low
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living standards in China. 5Ew( 0K[
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Tb]7# v
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by 3eUi9_s+
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ^]o
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ja9u?UbW
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ~>@~
U]
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half q]4h#?.-1v
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 v.RA{a 9
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this /`m*PgJ
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in PJK:LZw
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). ,a>Dv@$Y
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US @fA{;@N
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 LH54J;7Y
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ;pm/nu
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back vAM1|,U
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs aj4ZS
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living N:B<5l '
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be kwp%5C-S
expected to increase further. /4+L2O[