INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA r2]KP(T8|
RICHARD LYNN E9IU,P6a
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland `i,l)X]
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore S3iXG
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of zFqlTUD`t
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a ZYy?JDAO
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of kgV_*0^
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation wjm _bEi
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. :Ej#qYi
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples rv\m0*\<
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the B~RVFc +
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed z_^Vgb]
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ;5bzXW#U
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of =x/Ap1
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 fvDt_g9 oI
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained nM1F4G
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature i0y^b5@MOb
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by ~<?+(V^D
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 Pu=,L#+F N
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. M ;\iL?,
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 5HZ t5="+
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest W
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the $-}a<UFE;
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high hv.$p5UY*
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been <n)J~B^
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn %&RF;qa2xu
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be [%alnY
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 5mxYzu;#]
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial -<[MM2
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for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become Mbua!m(0
available and are the subject of this report. ?W*{%my
METHOD ;p!|E3o.
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by ;|.^_Xs
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. +M"Fv9
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a SCCBTpmf2B
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from -r6cK,WVU
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given em+dQ15
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables ")t
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consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile NT6OGBl&
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the G98P<cyD
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). q*|H*sS
RESULTS "+g9}g
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for aeQvIob@
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which #JFTD[1
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is O#,
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possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Y%FQ]Q=+
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the n\v;4ly^
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to R; wq
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British ZPieL&uV`
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the p=7
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British standardisation sample. xV_,R'l
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 4'ym vR
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD fZqqU|tq
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. .>Gnb2
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means jIMT&5k
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ,dTRM
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of \{Hb
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white s\k4<d5
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an (}W+W\.
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 \pXs&}%1,F
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean F~`Yh6v
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by D`?=]Ysz(
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater s[
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than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically \DG
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. i|]Kw9
DISCUSSION F%t_9S,)O
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in =q1=.VTn
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States QUPZe~G>L
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically /!l$Y?
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low G,#]`W@qhK
living standards in China. lTe7n'y^^
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- X0\2q D
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by }9k/Y/.
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than `K ,{Y_
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & O T*C7=
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the H]6i1j
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half ~$GRgOn
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 _(K )(&
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this EqN<""2
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been yMU>vr
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in JumZ>\'p(
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990).
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In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US NtuO&{}i
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 f4JmY1)@
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and -|ho
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back B}PT-S1l
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs wx
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living tl 0_Sd
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be r\OunGUP
expected to increase further. ?s=O6D&