INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA F3Da-6T@
RICHARD LYNN XM?c*,=fu
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ;9=4]YZt
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore AlrUfSBB
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of CnY dj~
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a {O!;cI~
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of 6OPNP0@r
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation ]>sMu]biH
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. hN1[*cF
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 93w$ck},?G
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the I|>IV
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed @N>rOA
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally q4"^G:
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of aa!1w93?i
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies 98<^!mwF
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean rvnm*e,
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained _Bn8i(
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature M5`m5qc3
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by 5y0LkuRR:
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 (li
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and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. [czWUD
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids r`u 9MJ*
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 7A<}JaE!,
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest 5HvYy
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the Z,XivU&
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 55>+%@$,a
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been 95D(0qv
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn Mwj7*pxUh
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be Pff-eT+~m
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ,(c'h:@M
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial N;m62N
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ND 8;1+3
available and are the subject of this report.
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METHOD GBd
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A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 'e
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Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. &|zV Wl
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Pm24;'
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from "6?Y$y/wm
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given u<j.XPK
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables =*y{y)B^g
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile T z+Y_
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the f'S 0"
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). 9@Z++J.^y
RESULTS E*9W
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for L`^v"W()
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which ;Oqbfl#%
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is KHaYb5(a[
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the F
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age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the =E~SaT
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 2@ZuH^qhk
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British )OGO
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children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the >6;RTN/P2
British standardisation sample. a[lx&CHgI
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH GCcSI;w
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD }LZz"b<aw
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. OW> >6zM
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means EJaO"9
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. {`L,F
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of tjm@+xs
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white A#79$[>w
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an Xd~li fF
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 Gh'{O/F4*
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean ><6g-+*k
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by ?* dfIc
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater wLQM]$O
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically Y3hudjhLl
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. e7U
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DISCUSSION 9 &Od7Cn
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in #:
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States }T=\hM
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically *OKve
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low DB] ]6
living standards in China. AlgVsE%Va
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- N9f;X{
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by [vCZD8"Y8
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than n6IN I~,
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & kRz qgVr%
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the I)G.tJZ
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economically developed western nations over the course of the last half xoE,3Sn
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 G&0JK ,Y
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this z]i/hU
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been y=}a55:qE
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in -f(<2i
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). #xrE^Txh
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US a>nV!b\n5
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 _Nbh Wv
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and Rmh,P >
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back E|B1h!!\c
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs jB d9
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living @eDL j}
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be YjG:ECj}
expected to increase further. ."v&?o
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