INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA .()|0A B&g
RICHARD LYNN 5*~]=(BE
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland +m
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Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore xAZ-_}'tW
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ff{L=uj
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a f!H~BMA+a
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of uT\|
jv,
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation w# iezo. 0
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. )qbjX{GZ7
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples @.D1_A
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ,\%qERk
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed 0Z11V9Jk
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally m|/q
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been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of *_qLLJg
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies NQ9/,M
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean < 2mbR
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 2oO&8:`tv
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature T_=IH~"
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by VKZZTFmV2)
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 >GV(\In
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. <SPT2NyX
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids F4b$
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the !e<D2><^
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest !0}SZ
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the 6g6BE^o\
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high d?9 b6k?
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been "ZHA.M]`
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn T09'qB
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be N(7UlS,u'
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ;z Qrree#
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial {S$]I)tV
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become ,NA _pvH)
available and are the subject of this report. j0X Jf<
METHOD CogN1,GJ
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by 6Fe$'TP
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. bF"1M#u:
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a Dr_ (u<[
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 9ZYT#h
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given N4L#$\M
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables >QA;02
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile ru>c\X^|
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the GW;\3@o
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). -wdd'G
RESULTS bE6
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The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for $sfDtnRy
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Y|3n^%I
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is &{gD(QG
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the Q
1:7 9
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the >Q-"-X1
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to mS]&
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Vw@?t(l >
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the CRh.1-
British standardisation sample. +[lv
`tr
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 'xG:v)(
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD SNUq
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. || }'
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means eX0due
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. z P`&X:8
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of \LEUreTn
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white nS`
:)#;
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an ?l/$cO
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 T {![a{
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean 8*7,qX
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by mne?r3d
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater (+iOy/5#u
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically kGkfLY6B
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. -Uj3?W
DISCUSSION z, f
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in -^f>=xa4J
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States 1SwKd*aRR?
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically 23iMG]J&
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low a3wk#mH
living standards in China. K}feS(Ji
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- JtbwY@R
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by xIb"8,N
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than ?c6`p3p3L
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & \'>ZU-V
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the c H7Gb|,M
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half
#GVf+8"
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 YqEB%Y~N+
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this {gkY:$xnrG
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been 2 {I(A2
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in C25EIIdRb
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). 8-_\Q2vG
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US <J
o\RUx
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 LJ{P93aq`^
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and -ld1o+'`v!
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back |z
8Wh
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs D=^|6}
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living 4~DW7(
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be qF? n&>YG
expected to increase further. P2t9RCH