INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA uX/$CM
RICHARD LYNN 8~lIe:F-
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland 'XrRhF
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore H(
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of =sJ
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a N2'qpxOLI
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of hU]HTX'R
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation (-77[+2
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. DQ#H,\^<
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples l v&mp0V+
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the +!IQj0&'Y3
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed "syh=BC
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ~[WF_NU1y
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of '*^yAlgtt
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies <*!i$(gn
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean
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IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained v1JS~uDz
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature JA)?
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on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by a ]Eg!Q
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 *OJ/V O
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. z4#(Ze@u~_
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 51C2u)HE
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the LQ11ba
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest <h).fX
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the '_\;jFAM
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high 3.d"rl
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been oX@ya3!Pz
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn }9HmTr|
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be )4>
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applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. LVJI_ O{fH
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial h^9"i3H
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become f3j{V N
available and are the subject of this report. ._w8J"E5
METHOD im7nJQ^H$q
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 9>zcBG8f
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. J_;N:7'p
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 7
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stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 2aw&YZ&Xo
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given KlV:L 4a~
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables .d;Iht,[
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile TGXa,A{
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 1"7Sy3
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). 9Jf)!o8
RESULTS >(w2GD?
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for | Xi%
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which :A
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is 0P^L }VVX
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the VGHWNMT
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the n<sd!xmqFx
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to gWABY%!}
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Pi,QHb`>
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Ji1Pz)fq
British standardisation sample. \<Sv3xy&O
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH S{4z?Ri, '
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD u]
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PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 0~wF3BgV
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means 99$
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. /={Js*
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of eI.2`)>
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white 7!,YNy%
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an &8&d3EQ
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 X"gCRn%tn
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean wbDM5%
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 'i;|c
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater NjPDX>R\K
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically )#|<w9uec
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. ^D^4
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DISCUSSION <!-sZ_qq
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in D(p\0V
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ]<(]u#g_d
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically b*a2,MiM
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low ?Xdak|?i
living standards in China. _lzyMEdr
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- BqDKT
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by NN0$}ac p
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than >Rvx[`|O!m
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron &
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Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the [ EFMu;q
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half UJ-?k&j,
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 S po?i.#
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this 09A
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rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been @`tXKP$so
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 8l}1c=A}Vi
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). |@ ,|F:h<M
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US i
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dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 j'[m:/
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and /525w^'pd
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back c_aZ{S
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs yR{x}DbG
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living o1&:ry
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be -9RDr\&`(
expected to increase further. CT0l!J~5m~