INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA iW(LD1~7
RICHARD LYNN .)b<cH~%
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland a%B&F|u
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore v,ZYh w
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of 5m0\ls\
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a @6yc^DAA
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of ?-<lIFFh
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation H?];8wq$G
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. hg" i;I
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples jeWv~JA%L|
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the L? DlR hu
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed XLt/$Caf
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally cl4z%qv*
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of B223W_0"o
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies AJ7^'p9Y
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ^#<L!yo^
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained O'wmhLa"W
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature &]o-ZZX
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by KJ'ID
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Bk~C$'x4
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 8C@u+tx
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 'G l~P><e
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the |T""v_q
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest g~y0,0'j1\
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the 7j\^h2
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high e9{0hw7
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been
F]yB=
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 1v]%FC`
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be "jum*<QZz
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. }w$2,r
gA
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial H_$?b
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become x^[,0?y2
available and are the subject of this report. S4_/%~?
METHOD -i:WA^yKgw
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by Gy/w #4xj
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. Pl/ dUt_
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a L T$U
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from " _2k3
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given ;zJb("n
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables cDY)QUmi
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile w-pgtO|Us
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 9KU&M"Yq&i
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). s)]j X
RESULTS !6'N-b1
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ^qR|lA@=\
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which tJ6@Ot
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 4-.K<-T%D
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the H KrENk
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the .@,t}:lD
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to }4Yz P 4
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British =4eJ@EVM
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the /%& d:
British standardisation sample. .g*N+T6O
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH !l0]IX`
F
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD m}wn+R
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. B>L7UQ6_[
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means am]M2+,2Ip
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. -_ I)5*N
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of {1OxJn1hd
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white nU>P%|loXx
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an -{cmi
,oy
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 Dm}eX:'{
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean eZPeyYX
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by "TJu<O"2
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater gQ{ #C'
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically V+"%BrM
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. .U0Gm_c0
DISCUSSION JLE&nbKS
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in p3U)J&]c6
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States tdH[e0x B
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically sr6BC.
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low 9-c3@>v
living standards in China. ?z9!=A%<V~
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Wn=sF,c
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by .Z[4:TS
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than "V>}-G&
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & w.k9{f
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the +<1 |apS1
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half ]!/U9"_e"B
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 [_'A(.
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this e%JI
qKS
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been ~-zTY&c_
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 9Y,JYc#
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). skcyLIb
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US RJW
O h
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 2xLtJR4L
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and M4C8K{}
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 9i5?J ]o^
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs U9:)qvMXe
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 5j`xSG
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be X
61|:E
expected to increase further. _U^[h !