INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA eQYW>z'%,
RICHARD LYNN 6%:'2;xM
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland /j.V0%
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore XSZW9/I-(|
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of vO"AJ`_
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a mWka!lT
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Be}Cj(C
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. T\2cAW5
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples {L.0jAwB
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the k.0$~juu
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed Na[bCt
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally BeP0lZ
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of b/<n:*$
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 4J_18.JHP
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean o<%Sr*
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained vY.p~3q :)
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ,wnF]K2D0
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by F5EKWP
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Ee4oTU5Mb
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. <;_X=s`f,
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids _D
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the ~sk 4v:-
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest `bivAL
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the oBIKtS*L
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high a*??!
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been 79S=n,O
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 6h;$^3x$
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be w'U;b
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. qzV:N8+,`
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial u*PN1E
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become $L;7SY?
available and are the subject of this report. zJtYy4jI)
METHOD F#W'>WBU
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by Jd)|==yD
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. 'fZHtnmc0
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a i)
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from "rkP@ja9n
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 1uS
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in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables 6``!DMDt/P
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile !9V_U
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the XB^z' P{-Y
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). P^.L0T5g
RESULTS =X>?Y,
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for xNl_Q8Z?R^
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which h5B'w
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 5qUyOkI
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the C+2*m=r
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the yPuT%H&i
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 E[e ''
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the _%"/I96'
British standardisation sample. T4w`I;&v
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH ?$8OVq.w,
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD .PxtcC.K
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. pGUrYik4
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means .7cQKdvcC
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. }JvyjE
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of W!+5}\?
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white 'N'EC`R
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an }0qgvw
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 =[vT=sHz7
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean -YRF^72+
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by uvZ|6cM
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater -,}f6*
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically kjjO<x?&*
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. 6XB9]it6
DISCUSSION VxaJ[s3PQ&
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in R%54!f0
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Z\`uI+`
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically {6v+
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significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low K]Ed-Tz8QZ
living standards in China. +dIg&}Tr
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- e|xRK?aVBu
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by y
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middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than uiO8F*,!&r
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & >5)$Qtz#
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the qI KVu_
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half CA:t](xqQ
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 |<9R%
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this c1!h;(&
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been #@lLx?U
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in Q>= :$I
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). # l}Y1^PDd
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US ={8ClUV#
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 APy&~`
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and QnVYZUgJeV
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back u9sffX5x[J
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs r!j_KiUy
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living \%rX~UhZ=
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be m$0T" `AP`
expected to increase further. z l@
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