INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA q}BzyC=:n
RICHARD LYNN ZI;<7tF_z
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland \,Lo>G`!
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore U!%!m'
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of H y"x
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a V(MFna)
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of XNM
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China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation M~*u;vA/
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. Do%-B1{ri
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples CRve.e8J
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the IL/Yc1
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed 9vNkZ-1
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 7`IpBm<
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of Rv,JU6>i
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies FOwDp0
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ZD#9&q'4<
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained )Rat0$6
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature e6B{QP#jq
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by Z}A%=Z\/3
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 R2L;bGI*J
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 7?gFy-
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids Cp`j/rF
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the L\{IljA
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest {j {+0V
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the e^YHJ>@
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high ;|p$\26S)%
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been |sZ!
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn '1fNBH2
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be Uawpfgc}
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. t%zpNd2lk
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial dm"n%
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become l JP1XzN_
available and are the subject of this report. 0n ~ Zz
METHOD O|A_PyW
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by yL^UE=#C_
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. ]9=h%5Ji>
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a +(D$9{y
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from @pI5lh
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 8l?piig#
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables :f5s4N
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile {y] mk?j
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the UX<Qcjm$e
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). zOEY6lAwI
RESULTS YJS{
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for SjjIr ^
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which e7fiGl
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 49Df?sx
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Uq_j\A;c
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the {*ZY(6^
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 6<,dRn
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British m]_FQWfet
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the !{n<K:x1
British standardisation sample. \?j E#^
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH _ ~RpGX
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD o[ENp'r
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. w:Jrmx
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means iz(u=/*\
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. LIU}a5
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of ``,k5!a66\
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white N!Qg; (
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an MF60-VE
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 E+"dqSI/v
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean z)XRx:YU;$
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 0U/K7sZ
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Giq=*D+
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically =&0wr6
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. DcIvhB p
DISCUSSION >StO.Q99
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in Glq85S
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States to8X=80-3
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically kY,U8a3!
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low OX%MP!#KU
living standards in China. }
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- b5m=7;u*h
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by &|%6|u9
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than f\;65k_jq
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & RO0>I8c1c
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the fl
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half p_ Fy>j
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 S0g'r
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this IC{eE
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been wi8Yl1p]!z
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in O9'x-A%
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Zn,>]X
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 6~#Ih)K
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 ri C[lB
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and PN~@
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back q1y/x@
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ]Mj/&b>"e
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 4ww]9J
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be 7:]Pl=:X
expected to increase further. 6OiSK@<Hk