INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA Oq~>P!=
RICHARD LYNN IgH[xwzy[
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 0&$+ CWSM
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore g`~c|bx
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ]Cd1&
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a Qp8.D4^@3
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of BEM_y:#
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation {6Tw+/`P
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ZAe>MNtW
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples P7r?rbO"
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 7MIu-x|
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed seWYY $$
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ^/`:o}7K7
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of q]Gym 7o
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies Hm2}xnY
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean Iw(2D(se
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained Rz%
Px: M
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ~J1;Z0}#
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by !Irmc*;QE
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 gNr/rp9A$m
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Ep-{Ew{T_=
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids \z!*)v/{-
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the ?Pz:H/$
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest A[L+w9
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the s6<`#KFAg
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high yP2[!vYw
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been "-JJ6Bk
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn Rfh#JO@%[
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be J0xOB;rd
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 0JTDJZOz@#
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial M##h<
3 I
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become
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available and are the subject of this report. -.ITcDg
METHOD t6p}LNm(V
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by )2T?Z)"hO
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. >
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a xi=Z<G
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 6b+\2-eq
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given /C"dwh"``
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables v|acKux=t
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile l<
8RG@
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the `[\*1GpAo
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). l{wHu(1
RESULTS 2b+cz
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for hPtSY'_@_
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which R o :/J
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is z:f[<`,GT
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the .zr2!}lB
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the 5_";EED
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to t{?U NW
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British CU)'x
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children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the i-!Z/,oL
British standardisation sample. ^SnGcr|a'
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH Q`ERI5b6
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD ]F5?>du@~
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. sl^i%xJ|l'
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means y05(/NH>
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. g+8{{o=
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of g2%&/zq/
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white hKv3;jcd
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an w^N xR,
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 VyK]:n<5Q
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean ^G'8!!ys
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by J<dr x_gc
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater J1DX}h]
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically a>A29*q
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. _U)BOE0o
DISCUSSION PY7j uS[+
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in |,CWk|G
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States D*3\4=6x
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically RE/'E?G
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low c"R`7P
living standards in China. j48cI3C
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- w^tNYN,i
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by b,kXV<KtU
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than [su2kOX|X
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & vtw{
A}
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the VD+TJ` r
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half <;\T
e4g[
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 )M(; :#le
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this 6LZ(bP'd;
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been "o&_tB;O
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in A,-UW
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the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). n1K"VjZk
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US *njdqr2c~
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 E>~DlL%
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and w J
FEua
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back O57n<J'6
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs cy|]}n85
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living gaBt;@?:Q
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be HU]Yv+3
expected to increase further.
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