INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA <P1rqM9^
RICHARD LYNN j")FaIM
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland R*087X7
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore R2l[Q){!
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of U
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a GR<c=
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of [[w2p
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Qm<
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 6*Zj]is
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples NCi>S%pD`<
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the yO=p3PV d
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed ~ FGe~
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally cf)J )
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of E/ijvuO
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies n12UBvc}%
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean y_*n9
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IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained S_2"7
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature !i^]UN
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by Zd[
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Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 F"'n4|q4n
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. <s_=-"
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids i2*d+?Er
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the `m%:rE,
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest BEWro|]cM
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the , ;%y
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homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high j&WL*XP&5
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been atyu/+U'}
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn [EgW/\35
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be &UL_bG}
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. SG:bM7*1'
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial JkU1daTe
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become Hd*}k6
available and are the subject of this report. {b1UX9y
METHOD ltoqtB\s
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ]=x\b^
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. FI8k;4|V
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a '<7S^^ax
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from hT'=V
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given <c+K3P'3?
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ,^ 7 CP
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile P/MM
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equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the [SkKz>rC
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). <W*xshn
RESULTS "mOI!xf@a
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for :6Pnie
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 7S<UFj
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is `}gdN};
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the D<t~e$ H
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the zI^Da!r.
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to "b]#MO}P
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British dv, C6t2
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the cD2+hp|9
British standardisation sample. o2aM#Q
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH fywvJ$HD]L
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD n_P3\Y|
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. `XW*kxpm
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means *_1[[~Aw
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British.
%H& ].47
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of NG" yPn
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white mRwT_(;t
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an !,Nwts>m
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 XX2h(
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean {oUAP1V^
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by DK6?E\<
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater
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than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically X\\7$
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. Q`A6(y/s?
DISCUSSION \3zp)
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in vX;HC'%n
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States H-I{-Fm
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically C#;@y|Rw
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low 3?.1nGu
living standards in China. f@@s1gdb
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- >.<ooWw
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by ? gSSli[
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than % ucjMa>t
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & J -V49X#
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the +}aC-&
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half pZk6w1d!
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 ]\Xc9N8w
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this
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rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ,PECYwegkt
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in u[")*\CP
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). 0/ !,Dn
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US =X-Tcj?3g
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 pzhl*ss"6
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and J[@u m:
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ZCYS\E7X
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs RV+E^pkp$
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living BAV>o|-K
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be _1L(7|^~y[
expected to increase further. .<#ATFmY