INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 4Hz3KKu
RICHARD LYNN <D.E.^Y
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 1kvX#h&V
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Zi~.
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of l zFiZx
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 5-X$"Z|@
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of [c3!xHt5O
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation uOA/r@7I}S
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. cy8>M))c
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 8g0 #WV
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the g>VtPS5 y
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally |Q/LC0?
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of z\m$>C|
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ^*}D*=>\
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean cb^IJA9}
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained nnyT,e%
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature kH eD(Ea
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by e3ZRL91c
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ?{ )'O+s
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. v
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Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 3N_KNW
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the @rYZ0`E9
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest #&'S-XE+
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the M2Nh3ijr
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high LO_Xrj
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been %unn{92)
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn PEI$1
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be KNeVSZT
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. PaaMh[OmG
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial @@D/&}#F
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become H1k)ya x4_
available and are the subject of this report. E{T3Xwg
METHOD ww{k_'RRJ
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by zIF1A*UH
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. LA6XTgcu
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Xex7Lr&
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 4mDHAR%D
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 6]1RxrAV
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables g$uiwqNA%
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ~ EBaVl ({
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the Q#% LIkeq
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). +ywz@0nx
RESULTS (2;Aqx5i
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for <.ZIhDiEl
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ]Ozz"4Z
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is w5i*pOG)Z
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the %$&eC
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the @ym:@<D
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to K6->{!8]k
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British
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children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the C1;uAw?\
British standardisation sample. 8XH;<z<oJ
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH >Lcu
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD 2E-Kz?,:[
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. DghyE`
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means f!+d*9
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. r ~{nlLO}
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of &`
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white D9g*+KM&
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an (]q
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American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 u0wu\
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean dEDhdF#f
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by /R B%m8@;
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 1|p\rHGd
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically gv eGBi
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. %Ik5|\ob?
DISCUSSION "Erphn
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in TIp\-
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ^6l5@#)w
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically
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significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low MEI&]qI
living standards in China. Kh3i.gm7g
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- D\G 8p;
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by s>DFAu!
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than \;-Yz
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & r3Ol?p
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the C/!P&`<6
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half <2(X?,N5BD
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 f4S}Nga(
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this \l=A2i7TQ
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in
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the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Jj]<SWh
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US t 9(,JC0
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 F7} yt
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and '{,JuX"n
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back $D`Kz*/.
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs |}77'w :
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living dU-:#QV6
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be
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expected to increase further. bD
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