INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA mfu*
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RICHARD LYNN @>M8Pe
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland di"C]" ;
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore @c6"RHG9
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of v&p,Clt-2
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a I/mvQxp
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of rny@n^F
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation wEBtr
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to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. VV?]U$
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples i:V0fBR[>
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 9 %D$T'K
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed "kcpA#uD|
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally )?F$-~7
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of u+I3IdU3
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies
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of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean BPwI8\V
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained wCV>F-
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature XC*
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on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by JX2mTQ
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 /!^L69um
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. \R6;Fef
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 7vii9Am7
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the Y8D7<V~Md
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ]|Ow_z8
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the 44'=;/
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high uo]Hi^r.l
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been X!,#'&p&
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 1y},9ym
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be 30A`\+^f
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. hq5NQi`
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial c_@XQ&DC`
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become )`B
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available and are the subject of this report. ~!8%_J _
METHOD t)\D
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by {z.[tvE8h
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. @*CAn(@#N
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 2=igS#h
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from =@Q#dDnFu%
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given LN@lrC7X
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 4}.WhE|h
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ]jHgo](%
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the q:TZ=bs^
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). IUluJ.sXIf
RESULTS &?KPu?9
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for
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raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 9=Y,["br$_
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is (:_%kmu
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the A8\U
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age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the v9Z lNA7m!
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to
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American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British )$ ofl%+
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 5u'TmLuKT
British standardisation sample. B`g<Ge~
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH i0,%}{`
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD P3+)pOE-SI
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. Rf)'HT
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means <{$ev&bQ
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ML=hKwCA
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of % MfGVx}nG
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white #g@
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an t7{L[C$
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 T
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and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 9X
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obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by @m+pr\h(
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater k)N2 +/
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically j~+[uzW98
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. y3&Tv
DISCUSSION n%83jep9
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in )m|X;eEo
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States >Sc$R0
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically Vpug"aR&_
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low mtSNl|O&{
living standards in China. yf
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- u}JQTro
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by UI|v/(_^F
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than Fv?R\`52u
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 2uvQf&,
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the "\VW.S
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half r!{w93rPX
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 }ZE
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this y+K7WUwhq
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been 1Pud,!\%q
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in #2_o[/&}x@
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). P`\m9"7
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US p<Zs*
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dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 qR [}EX&3
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and B'G*y2UnG
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back fOqS|1rC
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living %k/
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standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be S[W9G)KWp
expected to increase further. t 3(%UB