INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA BXnSkT7
RICHARD LYNN CES^
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland q1.w8$
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore gH(,>}{^K
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of S
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a t+|c)"\5h
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of HYZ94[Ti
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation `Q' 0l},
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. /RIvUC1
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples /{."*jK
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ggzg,~V
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed #t>w)`bA-
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally A<ur20
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of )apqL{u:=
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies AQDT6E:
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ?m}vDd
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained b(wW;C'#0p
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature vxzh|uF
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by TG=) KS
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 V<ziJ7H/
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. :{E;*v_!v
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids F%UyFUz
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the W}50E.\#
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest `p|{(g'
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the {AoH
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high Rjqeuyj:
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been <=W;z=$!Bb
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn f-E]!\Pg
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be '+hiCX-_
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. =EA*h_"q9
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial *&Np;^~
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become v2 T+I]I
available and are the subject of this report. ogtKj"a
METHOD 9r+]V=
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by MRMswNQ
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. "W?<BpV~@!
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a kXFgvIpg<
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from GKTrf\"c
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given )[.FUx
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables [nZ3}o
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile r n"'tvhm
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the T<=Ci?C
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United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). U,_uy@fE=?
RESULTS F3HpDfy
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for d OQU#5
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which NldeD2~H
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 7hlgm7^
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the f R$E*Jd
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the $-Lk,}s.*
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to [y7BHikX)
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British h# c.HtVE
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 6FFQoE|n
British standardisation sample. zYvf}L&]h
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH )hGRq'WA=
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD O-[ lL"T
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. U3}r
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It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means F4xYfbwY"]
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. Y6~/H
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of R4.$9_ui
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white w+)MrB-}
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an U
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American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 Rq-BsMX!A
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean s5F,*<
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by (j@3=-%6 G
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater T>7$<ulm
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically sgW*0o
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. PHU#$LG
DISCUSSION <7NY.zvwk]
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in dMK|l
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States =;#+8w=^
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically rvgArFf}]
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low TRW
{`b[
living standards in China. Ikv@}^p 7
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- 9tDo5
29
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by }1=V`N(
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than \dO9nwa?
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 7s+3^'
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the TcPYDAa
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half u,mC`gz
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 hsr,a{B%$
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this
)kfj+/
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been gXBC=
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in vq-Tq>
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). 1:h{(
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In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US [xe(FFl+
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 `md)|PSU
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and uH!uSB2
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back +Wrj%}+
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 1S/KT4
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living .Zv@iL5
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be `CP#S7W^
expected to increase further. KSe`G;{