INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA ;R+Gf!1
RICHARD LYNN ):Fg {7b]n
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 9+(b7L
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore P=}l.R*1G
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of /*g0M2+OZo
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a }D1?Z7p
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of eF;Jj>\R+i
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation x<t?Yc9
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. s[4 qC
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples CM~x1f *v
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the .\`MoH
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed p!E*ANwX
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally /\ fR6|tJ
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of B
Hpay
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies M7qg\1L
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean fbI5!i#lz
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained +sx(q@
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature VnN(lJ
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by "U9e)a0v
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 E7$ aT^
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. Oh}52=
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids <YCjo[(~
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the tG]W!\C'h
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest p+Yy"wH:h{
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the xz`0V}dPl
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high un\o&0}
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been =glG |
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn JSFNn]z2P
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ]Y,V)41gCE
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. XFFm'W6@
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial |xb;#ruR6
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become yu#m6K
available and are the subject of this report. .5HD i-
METHOD N8T.Ye N
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 1&h\\&ic
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. &x
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a QfjoHeG7
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from wI7.M
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small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given cm!vuoB~~
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables hAgrs[OFj
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile
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equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the :"Vmy.xq
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). 7yG%E
RESULTS D{7sfkcJ
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for 3Q&@l49q
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which hB'rkjt
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is #x;d+Q@
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the #Hy9 ;Q
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the mb'{@
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to eLH=PDdO
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British .mnkV -m
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the l(MjLXw5
British standardisation sample. `MT.<5H
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH -4Q\FLC'k
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD MHE/#G
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. k(`> (w
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means J^WX^".E
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. Gp_flGdGQ
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of 8&hxU@T~
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white $5#DU__F/
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an ^Ux.s Q
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 aEEb1Y
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean C,O9?t
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by "6~+-_:
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 0W
1bZPM
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically F.Bij8\
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ]:#W$9,WL
DISCUSSION =q[+e(,3
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in &G-dxET]
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States tPk>hzW
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 75h]#k9\
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low O*F= xG
living standards in China. p=[I;U-#H
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- TPj,4&|
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by [pt U}
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than t@2MEo
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ZP:+ '\&J
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the y`z?lmV)xM
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 5rtE/{A
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 U[pR`u
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this iDCQqj`
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been B$q5/ L$}
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in Wa!C2nB
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). kB?Uw#
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US Bi/E{k,
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 xNJ*TA[+
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and WK#c* rsij
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back )*}?EI4.
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Ix@nRc'
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 1vh[sKv9%
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be C
pn!}!Gnf
expected to increase further. do l8O