INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA .J&NM(qeZ
RICHARD LYNN RRV@nDf
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland CImB,AXS
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore rQ30)5^V|
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of FnvN 4h{S
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a bpzB}nEp
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of TJ?}5h5
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation (xG#D;M0
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. B5=L</Aj
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples
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have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the |jEKUTv,G
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed [LjYLm%<
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally /fBZRdB
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of F2z^7n.S
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies n"@3d.21
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean (x>5
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 8p-5.GU)<e
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature /+JCi6{sHS
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by
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Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 P-7!\[];te
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. VBIPB
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids QbV)+7II=
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the 96}/;e]@
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest D<5gdIw
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the Nr:
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homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high a_x$I?,
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been *yiJw\DRN
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn K{x<zv&,
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be rv9qF |2r{
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. ~Xh(JK]
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial SKD!V6S
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become )n5]+VTZ5
available and are the subject of this report. 3P^eD:)
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METHOD e4khReF;
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by U87VaUr
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. n!ea)+^
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a No=f&GVg
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from <saS2.4
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given u32wS$*8
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables AY[7yPP
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile dm8veKW'l
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the feQ_dA q
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). Dr7,>Yx
RESULTS `vL R;D
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for ENA8o}n
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 8ENAif
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is gS4K](KH |
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the q>]v~
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the Af5In9WB5
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to j9y,UT
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British UF,T
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the y;;^o6Gnw
British standardisation sample. Y
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TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH bxrByu~| 1
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD Q]{DhDz?+
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. X
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It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means z* zLK[t+
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. iMk`t:!;#"
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of MCz+l0
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white [9[tn-
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an va~:oA
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 \8ulX>]
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean _^#PV}
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by n
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calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater 6;*tw i
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically K 2LLuS!
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. azj<aaH
DISCUSSION ]r'b(R; S
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in Z TjlGU `
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States Vn=J$Uv0
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically x03G Jy5
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low |I)MsNF
living standards in China. XL EA|#
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- djZOx;/
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by wUh'1D<(r
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 0t/ S_Q
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ;6fkG/T
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half &e cf5jFy
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 P:ys--$"
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this `S;pn+5
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been V
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in Fe"0Hp+
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Vxo3RwmR
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US SDA
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dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 by>,h4
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and 7QQ3IepP
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back /bt@HFL|`
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs Nf<([8v;t
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living _$MoMg{uJH
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be }..}]J;To
expected to increase further. XfViLBY(
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