INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA =L_L/"*rel
RICHARD LYNN "0Xa?z8"
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland gs;3
NW
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore @ yJ/!9?^
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of #6g-
{OBv
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 2w`k h=
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Jp)>Wd
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation b_88o-*/
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. bA]/p%rZ8
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ow :}NI
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the !>XG$-$`Z
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed I"awvUP]a[
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally R_4]6{Rm
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of 6itp
Mck
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies n99>oh
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean S0.
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained ".+wz1
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature )@DT^#zR
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by hDc,#~!
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 @l3L_;6a
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. v5"5UPi-
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 0gNwC~IA8
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 3md yY\+&
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest cVv>"oF;~*
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the [\N,ow,n
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high E<]l]?
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been @}@`lv65}
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn .<JD'%?"
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be s=`1wkh0
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. "B`yk/GM]
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial f(q^R
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become G'c!82;,?
available and are the subject of this report. :nki6Rkowt
METHOD ahgm*Cpc
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by U85t !U
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. xR5j
y|2JJ
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a dR2#n
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from >T3HkOT
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given .S/W_R
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables +gb2>fei&
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile yC.ve;lG
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the
/|] %0B
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). @W3fKF9*R
RESULTS wc-H`S|@
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for >W2Z]V
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which S!gV\gEbDj
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 9:0JWW^so
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the e*gCc7zz
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the <qH>[\
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to `X?l`H;#
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Qxj &IX
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the S3nA}1R
British standardisation sample. IQ$l!)
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH n y6-_mA]
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD vPuPSE%M
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. PN0l#[{EN
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means =8OPjcX.V
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ?!
dp0<
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of WE$Pi;q1
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white )mO|1IDTN
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an b6!?K!imT
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 Zcd!
y9]#
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean cWIX!tc8
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by (n7v $A
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater pE
>~F
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically "dwx;E
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ;zI;oY#.y
DISCUSSION O?X
g%k#
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in <rc3&qmd
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States L+Q"z*W
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically DmAMr=p
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low <~# ZtD$G
living standards in China. ,Zjb
bBZ
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- #p~tkQ:'1
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by !?B9 0(
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than {xr!H-9ZAA
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & yBO88rfh>
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ;;BQuG
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half `WF?87l1
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 4&/u1u0
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this w2y{3O"p=
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been UNLy{0tA
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in
Y<Y5HI"
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). :,<e
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US c0ET]
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 @=x=dL(
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and -)@DH;[tb
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back m;o \.s
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs *%5#\ I
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living O6gI%Jdp
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be *1iJa
expected to increase further. ehj&A+Ip