INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA mvu$
RICHARD LYNN ~\OZEE
I
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland %\B@!4]
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore i4\DSQJ
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of hQ}y(2A.XI
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 6&KcO:}-
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of _F`RwBOjs
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation LAH.PcjPa
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. e"cvo(}g
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 8X#\T/U
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the !'(QF9%Q
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed ~=t K17i
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally lZJbQ=K{
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ebiOR1)sN
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies /DX6Hkkj %
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Vrt*,R&
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 4t
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a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature (/jZ&4T
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by ;4<!vVf e
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 )sLXtV)nm6
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. _i2guhRs*Q
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Q\pI\]p:
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the {-l:F2i
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest B*otquz
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the $O9,Gvnxx
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high j/, I)Za
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been do DpTwvh
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn Rg7~?b-
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be >JHQA1mX
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. zt
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial $q g/8G
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become !"SuE)WM
available and are the subject of this report. }CQ)W1mO"
METHOD H|z:j35\
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by |W*i'E
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. xeW}`i5_w
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a T7Qw1k
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from <xh";seL
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given ^oDSU7j5,
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables }{F1Cr
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 64l(ru<
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 2`pg0ciX (
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). pwmH(94$0
RESULTS b G/[mZpRT
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for \
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raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which o{OY1 ;=6
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is "$ U!1
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the ;mwU>l,4
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the kqZ+e/o>O9
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 9uW\~DwsZ%
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British (3N;-
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ZDr&Alp)o
British standardisation sample. :xZ^Jq91
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH l{t!
LTf;
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD bj_oA
i
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. [4b_`L
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means jfjT::f>l
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. lj 2OOU{
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of S3sxK:
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white |g!3f
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an =6xxZy
[
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 aH*5(E]
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean )26_7.|
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by aK]H(F2#
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater <CN+VXF
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 6XI$ o,{
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. lx&;?QQ
DISCUSSION Lz=GA?lk[\
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in :y^%I xs{1
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States G$E+qk
nJL
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 7i88iT
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low -GT&46hX
living standards in China. li&&[=6
A
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- dReJ;x4
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by '\R/-.
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than p* tAwl
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron &
N _|tw
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the o,_R;'\E[a
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half iJ p E`
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 kB=\
a(
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this sJ7ZE-v]h
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been a1gaB:w5n
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 5^C.}/#>F
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). en-HX3'
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US
2!";?E
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 frUO+
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and -$o4WSd~
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back TSUT3'&~p
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs b|nh
4g
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living {xCqz0
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be z<,-:=BC"
expected to increase further. :NXM.@jJ="