INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA kL%ot<rt)w
RICHARD LYNN I<O$);DV'
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland .6P.r}
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore ss[`*89
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of kh9'W<tE
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a &nP0T-T5y
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of 3("C'(W
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation o>_})WM1[
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. Vx(*OQ
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples R|n
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ])wdd>'
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed =nHKTB>
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 7b+r LyS0
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of i+h*<){X
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies <a]i"s
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Ec!!9dgRQ
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained [K&%l]P7
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature l3sF/zkH
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by U3X5tED
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 7Y9#y{v1
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. T[Zs{S
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids wkM1tKhy/
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the =}0Uw4ub(u
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest uX*2Rs$s
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the i
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homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high is4}s,]$6
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been d
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determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn hE|P|0U,n
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be Q]YB.n3
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. *{3d+j/?/
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial =..Bh8P71!
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ux<|8S
available and are the subject of this report. \P*_zd@%
METHOD ^K;k4oK
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 1ZI1+TDH
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. bZNqv-5 4h
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ZU73UL
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from G9f6'5 O
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given f^FFn3
2u
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables >E>yA d
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile -NXxxK
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the r }lGcG)
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). q7X#LY k
RESULTS pR$(V4>
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for k5I;Y:~`
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which {1)A"lQu
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is !BsQJ_H
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the rW)h?, b
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the `G qe]ZE#"
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to ,B[j{sE
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British BB6[(Z
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the -B;#pTG
British standardisation sample. /?eVWCR
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH I.n,TJoz4J
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Wd:pqhLh
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. q#tUDxf(|
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means BM<q;;pO
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. bZ\R0[0
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of _K o#36.S
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white mux/\TII
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an o]4]fLQ
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 #RBrii-,
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean UDH
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obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 3PE.7-HF
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 1uAjy(y
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically e0TYHr)X>3
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 0G+Q^]0
DISCUSSION _#u\ar
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in ob\-OMNs@
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 5MVa;m
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically Q#\Nhc
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low 2#>;cn\
living standards in China. {Rkd;`Q`!
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- J,F1Xmr4
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by |}z)>E
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than S"cTi[9
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & fOV_ >]u
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the wXKtQ#o}
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 5dePpF D5
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 jVQ
y{8{G
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this @@AL@.*
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been =6u@JpOl
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in ; ~pgF_
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Zz0bd473k?
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US krUtOVI
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 G:<f(Gy
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and <y@vv
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ^ Oh
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs <E2 IU~e
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living `,qft[1
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be *%Rmdyn
expected to increase further. BS9VwG<Z