INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA v:zKn[;o
RICHARD LYNN s#4Q?<65u
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland J}Ji /
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of C)(/NGf
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a qE@H~&
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of nPg,(8Tt
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation :P?zy| aBi
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. `-yiVUp1:z
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples ()ZP=\L
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the c1}i|7/XSi
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed eQ80Kf~
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ]\6*2E{1m
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of +T8]R7b9
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies K[R.B!;N
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean v%4zP%4Ak[
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained P ,*yuF|bk
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature R&@N
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on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by w1:%P36H
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 N D1'XCN
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. !D~\uW1b
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids }_,={<g
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the ,#8H9<O9t
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest n<3{QqF
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the (yv)zg9
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high fIii
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been
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determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn -/LB-t
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be txFcV
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ot;
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial (P|k$S?m
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become Xp?WoC N
available and are the subject of this report. $m[*)0/
METHOD &.chqP(|
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by @M=\u-jJ.
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. VmP5`):?b
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ~zcB@; :
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from q?=_{oH9
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given :BVYS|%
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables jVInTR0f[
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 4cZlQ3OE.
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 7z9[\]tt
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). wY{!gQ
RESULTS JXqwy^f
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for 5z@QAQ
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which +x)x&;B)/
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is -}KW"#9c
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the ZeE(gtM
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the .&;:X )
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to _64<[2
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British W&p f%?
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ~4=XYYcka
British standardisation sample. UdK +,k~m/
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH mt]50}eK
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD G4{TJ,~
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. RWdx)qj{
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means jU!ibs}R3
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. T&u25"QOf
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of :~LOw}N!aQ
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white tvR|!N }
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an <I.{meDg
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 :r+F95e
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 4mwLlYZ
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ,'a[1RN
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater K?gO]T{6
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 41#YtZ
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. NUM+tg>KM
DISCUSSION y2:Bv2}
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in =g<Y[Fi2
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States #/o1D^
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically ^^kL.C Ym
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low f@H>by
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living standards in China. P.'$L\
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- Dfw%Bu
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by CooOBk
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than l(uV@_3
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & [5wU0~>'
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the a~A"uLBR
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half TQsTL2a
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 I
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IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this 0khAi|PY
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been l^;=0UR_
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in szas(7kDS
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). uYMH5Om+i
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US =fcRH:B:
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 Tk:%YS;=
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Oi$$vjs2
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back 2,e>gP\]
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ea6`%,lF~
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living c'uD
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standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be T~)zgu%q_
expected to increase further. ?X3uPj9if