INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA WL6p+sN'
RICHARD LYNN )RFE<
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland F:P&hK
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore 5YQq*$|'+
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of j. m(Z}
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a w2mL L?P
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Z#i5=,Bk
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation Y>N`(
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. MUs~ZF
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples =q4QBAW
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the "V>7u{T
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed #G/
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in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally 9W~3E^x
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of R'.YE;leBG
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies LM~,`#3Ru
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean 3o>.Z;
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained )iiwxpdw
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature 2|8&=K /
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by -H;%1y$A-
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 POouO/r$
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. !FhiTh:GCh
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids
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in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the :M %s:,]R
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest #3L=\j[
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in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the Ijs"KAW
?
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high JuD$CHg;#
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been vcsMU|GGh
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn ti)4J2c,8
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be yU"'h[^
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. - A\J:2a|
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial %L^S;v3
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become !N::1c@C
available and are the subject of this report. Q.d Hg7+D
METHOD BUozpqN}
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by unUCn5hJ=
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. ST^@7f_
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 5nhc|E)C
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from f7Dx.-
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given =h"*1`
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables o3mxtE]
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile -c1$>+
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the dE_I=v
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). x!<?/I)X
RESULTS 'za4c4b*u
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for :<`hsKy&
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which o
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is E7*z
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possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the b,7@)sZ*
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the &;)6G1X1
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to xP1`FSO8=
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British n<x NE%
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the |0wUOs*5
British standardisation sample.
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH F> F&+63Q-
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD ~TGk`cAM>
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. TAbC-T.EV
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means Q>FuNdUk
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. ) $wX~k
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of 4eOQP
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white (S@H'G"
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an |c]Y1WwDx
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 54A ndyeA
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean A#"AqNVWv
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by `_+j+
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater pFu3FUO*;
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically d9hJEu!Lu
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. wN])"bmB
DISCUSSION
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in f"0{e9
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mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States vk:m>?(
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically U
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significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low #\&jM
-.-
living standards in China. T]5JsrT
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- ,a I0Aw
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by ^c9~~m16+
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than *+E9@r=HF
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & ?\7"
A
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the XOM@Pi#z
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half CPI7&jqu
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 quB.A7~^=
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this [y>;[K
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been w:}RS.AK
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in U[S#axak
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). pGy]t
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US 4YVxRZ1[3
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 .&53WL[D|
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back #nL&x3
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs 8bB'[gJ]{
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living X3KPN
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be *lN>RWbM%
expected to increase further. C?Sy
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