INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA XC$~!
RICHARD LYNN r
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University of Ulster, Northern Ireland c1/x,1LnMf
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore +!<`$+W
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of hi=U
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a 0eLK9u3<
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of k9,"`dk@
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation _PaOw%Y9
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ?{2-,M0
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples UvI!e4_
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the KYQ6U.%W
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed -7`J(f.rYC
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally ^>"?!lv
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of V]AL'}(
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies n5i}J/Sa2
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean bc ZonS
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained C+k>Ajr
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature &qC>*X.
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by %(]rc%ry0
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 ,&9|Ac?$
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. y6s$.93
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids N3?d?+A$
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 3k/MigT
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest ]]7T5'.
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the #7>CLjI
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high o]Ki+ U
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been |RmBa'.)z
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn |(V3
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be zM'-2,
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. .jKO 6f
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial >"[u.1J_'I
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become YszhoHYh
available and are the subject of this report. usA!MMH4
METHOD BpC Sf.zZ
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by DkI
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Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. "&%Hb's
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a u|ZO"t
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from g :EU\
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given 7jPmI
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables _H,RcpyJ
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile 9+:Trc\%N
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the 1K`A.J:Uy
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). p
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RESULTS lO
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for *"
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raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which p
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to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is :uEp7Y4
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the )\(pDn$W
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the (07d0 <<[
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to wnX6XyUH
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British kr?|>6?
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the ,Tx8^|b#F
British standardisation sample. Nm~#$orI|
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 2S;zze7)
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Ixw,$%-]y6
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. w&{J9'~
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means *v9G#[gG
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. D8ly8]H
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of . ~<
+
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white :-Pj )Y{I
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an qha<.Ro
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 tu'M YY
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 7Tbk ti;
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by liTr3T`,V
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater X]
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than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically B_S3}g<~
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. hqBRh+[
DISCUSSION fCfY.vd5
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in RB"rx\u7K
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Ua]zTMI
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically !S:@x.n@iR
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low #q- _
living standards in China. ;
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Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- !=we7vK}
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by 2KEww3.{
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than yiOF&
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & NSq"\A\
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the `FwAlYJK
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half ^wlep1D
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 G!\xc
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this U*@_T 3N
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been PG!vn@b6
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in }dz(DPd
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). `g=~u{0
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US <fJ\AP5
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 k-U/x"Pl
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and !xI![N^
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back ,b4&$W].
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs ;vitg"Zh>
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living {aSq3C<r
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be X&IY(CX
expected to increase further. 93\,m+-