INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA j_I[k8z
RICHARD LYNN ]& 8c
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland BiY-u/bH9a
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Pj-.oS2dA
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of [}Q_T.4)E
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a m+UWvUB)
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of D\:dn
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ^fiJxU
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. jz,K>
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples Fqt,VED
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the 8H'ybfed
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed z`"*60b
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally BGd# \
2
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of *S xDwN
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 6|mHu2qXm
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean v)p'0F#6A
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained FR9w0{o
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 2jf73$F
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by
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Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 gmUXh;aHc
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. ?^whK<"]
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids = K)[3mXX
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the Ux,?\Vd
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest (]E0fjk
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the eOoqH$
i
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high /0Jf/-}ovn
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been U[0x\~[$K
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn g6
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be ^4b;rLfk@
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 4 s
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Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial 3S 5`I9I
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become zq6)jHfq.
available and are the subject of this report. Y#,&Tu
METHOD gt(^9t;
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by z@g%9|U
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. N \~}`({
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a (ZPl~ZO
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 3"BSP3/[l
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given <ni_78
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables _<E.?K$gbU
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 0OXl`V`w
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the X-=4Z9
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). {|d28!8w
RESULTS +>&i]x(b
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for 0BwxPD#6bv
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 9 NGKh3V
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is #<LJns\t
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Y\,aJL$
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the
r>e1IG
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to j.&Y'C7GOC
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British nTtE+~u
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the /0sw rt.
British standardisation sample. bm*.*A]
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH eMV{rFmT
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD {q/;G!ON.S
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. XS}-@5TI
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means e#U@n
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. l4gF.-.GYF
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of )x,/+R]{8l
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white tj ?%{L
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an J$W4AT
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 u`.3\Geh
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean "ejsz&n
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by %G|Rb MP
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater SK5_^4
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically ?8w5tfN6t
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. z`qb>Y"xf3
DISCUSSION f, '*f:(
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in cP",szcY
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States UX2@eyejQ7
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically Z%Pv,h'Q
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low (@ 1>G
^%
living standards in China. ;^TSla+t+
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- *HsA.W~2W
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by &^UT
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than BM~6P|&qD
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & PNz]L
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ^e]O-,UBk
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half zviTGhA
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 *rgF[
:
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this EI9;J-c
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been _l"=#i@L
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in -Qn l)JB
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). {Rdh4ZKh
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 28LBvJVq@
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 dWx@<(`OC
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and 5DpvMhc_
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back /-knqv
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs p,V%wG
M
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 4@+']vN4
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be ih|;H:"^
expected to increase further. )oALB vX