INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA o 2Okc><z
RICHARD LYNN <xpHlLc
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland bo%v(
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore M!nwcxB!
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of JRT,%;*,
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a oPVyLD
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of -g`3;1EV^
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation }M+2 ,#l
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 5lp};
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ZZJXd+Q}
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the C6P(86?
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed v?S~
=$.
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 7Rix=*
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ))z1T
8
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies tUR9ti
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean IX]K"hT
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained e_{!8u.+
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature TA~YCj$
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by 28rC>*+z
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Tl2e?El;4
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. H*&ZXAKv
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids w6w'Jx
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the w:~Y@b~D
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest lAcXi$pF
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the |'bRVqJ
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 4X^{aIlshk
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been f} _d`?K
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn MaX:oGF,
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be v7kR]HU[y
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. sHwn,4|iY
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial -jJw wOm
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become S7
_^E
available and are the subject of this report. vs|_l!n3
METHOD u^{6U(%
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by fvUD'
sx
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. Pa}
B0XBWP
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Nr(3!-
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from ygz6 ~(
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given /Wqx@#
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables Gd08RW
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile tEE1`10Mt
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the *gxo!F}
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981).
:Ky
*AI
RESULTS b5v6Y:f&fK
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for =e>#oPH
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which buv*qPO
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is Ad@Odx=o*R
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the EDkxRfY2/
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the ".=LzjE<gv
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to QxjX:O
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British 9^5D28y
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ag
\d4y6
British standardisation sample. [=xJh?*P
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 3>I
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD ju= +!nGUa
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. QaMB=wVr
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means zJJ6"9sl
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. <m|\#Jw_V
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of *~0Ko{Avc
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white ZJ7<!?6
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an ;& PK6
G
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 kQY+D1
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean |8s)kQ4$
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by KO
Q9K
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 4\6-sL?rW
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 0/F/U=Z!
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. e yLVu.
DISCUSSION .;'3Roi
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in O^AF+c\n
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States d*A(L5;@
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically m@_m"1_;
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ~^GY(J'
living standards in China. 0B;cQSH!q
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- s, 8a1o
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by ;Q0WCm\5
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than <e:2DB&
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & b35Z1sfD
j
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the RXj6L~vs5_
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half S_B $-H|
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 ?<#2raH-
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this g[,1$39Z|@
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been `S{Blv
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in H%*
<t}
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). c T!L+zg
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US {MaFv
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 DrTo")T
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and j$K[QSn
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back $j\UD8Hj'-
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ?5oeyBA@
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 27NhYDo
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be h6Vm;{~
expected to increase further. $YM6}D@