INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA mlmnkgl
]
RICHARD LYNN 2q$X>ImI$
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland ?bCTLt7k
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore t.u{.P\Md\
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ]d~MEa9Y|
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a vy:6
_
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of kz|[*%10
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation wtUG^hV #_
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. 3V!W@[ }:
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples 2PI #ie4
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the _BCT.ual
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed \ /sF:~=
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally I@c0N*(
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of ]:Wb1
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies (F_7%!g1d
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean ` C ?a
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained H;X~<WN&AW
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature @]yQJuXA&Z
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by tl2Lq0
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 >d)|r
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. IBF.&[[S
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids `oan,wq+
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the rcpvH}N:
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest >0ssza
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the ar=hx+
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high ?~]>H A:
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been VN!^m]0
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 8*"rZh}'
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be W|)(|W
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. M`q#,Y?3^I
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial
1w6.
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become 6l=M;B7:i
available and are the subject of this report. 2%*|fF}I
METHOD OHQ3+WJ
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by vatx+)
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. -1#e^9Ve\
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a UfO'.8*v
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from t>=GVu^
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given %
{c2lyw
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables l!Nvn$hm
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile o^N%;d1%E
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the CcbWW4 )
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). /}[zA@
RESULTS Yr Preuh
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for .Pqj6Ko9
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which c
'/2F0y
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is g9! dpP
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the :r[W'h_%
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the ,\Z8*Jr3Q
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to 8HB?=a2Q<'
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British w 2s,
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the Y&~5k;>'_
British standardisation sample. N n:m+ZDo^
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH s-y'<(ll
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD z, :+Oc
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. \"{/yjO|4
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means !Q\X)C
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. 6k@[O@)
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of YL_!#<k@
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white 5Xla_@WLW
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an dVK@Fgo
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 b49|4
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean P2s^=J0
@
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by &fh.w]\
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater cC*zj\O
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically O7E;W| ]
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. g=)U_DPRi
DISCUSSION 8j({=xbg&
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in ^2(";.m
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States e=|F(iW
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically t%ou1&SO
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low tVK?VNW
living standards in China. !hpTyO+%
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- c|8KT
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by axt6u)4%7:
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than k0Oc,P`'*
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & Va&KIHw
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the J
T}dor
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half OqUE4.vIP
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 GhaAvyN
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this !!\4'Q[
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been fte!Ll'
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in 9~*_(yjF
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). >V77X+!
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US ZfF`kD\
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 zcbA)
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and ant-\w>}
Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back #<^/yoH7C6
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs =t
<:zLe
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living u&Ie%@:h9R
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be Vz+=ZK r5
expected to increase further. Q|zE@nLS