INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA bAGQ
RICHARD LYNN ,eF}`
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 2u/~#Rt&*
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 4}gqtw:
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of 4{[Df$'e>
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a =Y?M#3P.I
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of L6J=m#Ld
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ~4`LOROC
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples BC9rsb
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the u-f_,],p
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed A +
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ZlUd^6|:3
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of E[)`+:G]
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies p4*VE5[?_+
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean OB>Pk_eQK
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained I+kDx=T!
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature CAX|[
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by NYm2fFPc
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 {: T'2+OH>
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 7=aF-;X3jj
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids y4w{8;Mh
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the K8ecSs}}J
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest Wg3y
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the "U4Sn'&h@
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 'Oyz/P(p
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been #Bj.#5
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn {%)bxk6
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 0x4p!5
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ~(~fuDT~O
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial gp$oQh#37;
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become sFT-aLpL@V
available and are the subject of this report. B|/=E470G
METHOD :1PT`:Y
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by *"d"
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. 4
B"tz!
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a D[-V1K&g
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from _qR1M):yJ
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given wm%9>mA
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in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ))K3pKyb
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile hg/G7Ur"
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the >RG
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United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). /60
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RESULTS Uw8 O"}U8
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for FI`][&]V
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which jn&[=Y-
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 2E9Cp
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the t$m268m~
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the Nv{r`J.
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to v2 T+I]I
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British )}0(7z
Yu
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Cdin"
British standardisation sample. PxhB=i!'$
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH ypSW 9n
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD %V%*0S|U
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. {r?O>KDQf(
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means \25Rq/&w
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. <7~HG(ks
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of A36 dj
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white )+'FTz` c
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an }S\ \"SBC
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 EC<g7_0F
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean vUk <z*
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by sk5h_[tK
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater $-Lk,}s.*
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically [y7BHikX)
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. h# c.HtVE
DISCUSSION n,!PyJ
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in dq+VW}[EO
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States C (L1
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically "t$c'`
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low xX.fN7[
living standards in China. l{[{pAm
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- |JC/A;ZH
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by s5_[[:c=^
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than OlL
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & F*_g3K!!
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the $,ZBK6CT
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half q"7rd?r52
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 wR@&C\}9
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this sgW*0o
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been PHU#$LG
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in %5?qS`/c(
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). fI9 TzpV
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 56Z 1jN^U
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 -aK_
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and 2MS1<VKZ@
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back oKLL~X>!U
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Uo>pV9xRG
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living ]
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standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be oJE~dY$Q
expected to increase further. v9QR,b`n