INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA -J63'bb7oi
RICHARD LYNN xCL)<8[R,}
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland BPkMw'a:
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 3|$?T|#B
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of (Yj6|`
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a P7}w^#x
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of *m"@*O'
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation O])vR< [
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. k`>qb8,
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples |E K6txRb
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the M
%zf?>])
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed '~b
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ',hoe
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of x}a?B
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies -!+i
^r
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ]rGd!"q
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained ,zZH>
P
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ;fqp!|J
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by &H# l*
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ?5" >5 0
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Ds]
.Ae
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids ~*EipxhstJ
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the mL1ZSX
o!
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest T+XcEI6w
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the D7pQWlN\
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 6'
*6tS
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been >
U3>I^Y
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn @GAj%MK$
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be Lb$Uba-_
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. a'`i#U
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial s8(Z&pQ
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become }%w;@[@L
available and are the subject of this report. ]kNxytH\o
METHOD \KJTR0EB:>
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by
.nIGs'P
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. X{xkXg8h
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a i/!
{k2
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from E7h@c>IK
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given '(r?($s
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 51s\)d%l
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile tz65Tn_M
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the qX5]\nX&G
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). >%6j -:S
RESULTS %+/v")8+?
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for W\<OCD%X
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 0 F8xS8vK+
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is e#5WX
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the WClprSl
8
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the Onqapm0
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to iU.` TqR7
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British <8%+-[(
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the LGy62 y$
British standardisation sample. u^C\aujg
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH >7a
ENKOg:
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD L~+aD2E {
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. <EyJ $$
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means r|Uz?
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. &z
3_N
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of @ ~{TL
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white 7oLl RU
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an 2pHR $GZ2
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 7]u_
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 5Qg*j/z?
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 2
O(k@M5E?
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater Q +hOW-
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically TS=%iMa
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. b^[>\s'
DISCUSSION +
,]&&
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in vyc<RjS_x
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 6R m d t
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically DDIRJd<J
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low q@1A2L\Om
living standards in China. ajRht +{
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- zhE4:g9v
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by "nJMS6HJ[
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than m?Jnb\0
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & D3 +|Os)
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the sfG9R"
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half z1RHdu0;z
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 SN[yC
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this vIi&D;
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been Wsd_RT }ww
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in .nr%c*JUp
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). &VjPdu57
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US b%F'Ou~
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 +Rd\*b
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ,-d2wzhW
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back n}%_H4t
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 8fvKVS
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 4myikeUR_
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be r_ 9"^Er
expected to increase further. tF*Sg{:bCa