INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 3!_XEN[
RICHARD LYNN jmG~Un M
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland dSHDWu&
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore Lr
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and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of b&
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British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a TB31-
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standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of 1?l1:}^L
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation }0y"F
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. ZbKg~jdF
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples do'GlU oMC
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the ]7A'7p$Y
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed $[ *w"iQ
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally \s\?l(ooq"
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of G
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intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies ;!Fn1|)
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean A@#E@;lm
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained 5|)W.*Q
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature k+*u/neh
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by =Dj#gV
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 cH2K )~
and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 4CTi]E=H{
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids 2GG2jky{/
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the GTHt'[t@;
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest S3J^,*'
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the =?8@#]G+
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high ~a2}(]
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been ]6j{@z?{
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn ftSW
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(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be kyV8K#}%8
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. #GFr`o0$^
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial Zv{'MIv&v
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become iWR)ke
available and are the subject of this report. <:CkgR$/{
METHOD #KvlYZ+1
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by J<lW<:!3]
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. r<$y=B
The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a ;$Jo+#
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from gjlx~.0d
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given <C*hokqqP
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables /yZcDK4
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile Dw"\/p:-3
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the :Zlwy-[
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). c &c@M$
RESULTS );YDtGip J
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for *0ro0Z|Iq
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which 8eRLy/`gd
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is uXiN~j &Be
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the #O&8A
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the
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percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to g
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American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British VIbq:U
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the 3XNCAb2
British standardisation sample. 7d\QB(~
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH 8{ I|$*nB
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD noj0F::m`j
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. 4skD(au8
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means dc'Y`e
than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. .6J$,.Ig
The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of +ZX{>:vo
substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white }6ldjCT/,
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an MHwIA *R
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 [#iz/q~}
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean %z$#6?OK^
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by 7xR\kL.,
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater !VzC&>'v^9
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically 5mR 1
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significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. "J1
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DISCUSSION ia?
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The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in '5tCz9}Y
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States ^ZCD ~P_=
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically w32y3~
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low Iu6
living standards in China. ~VB1OLgv#.
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- G!yPw:X
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by $:^td/p J
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than \{D"
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their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & 8
FhdN
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the ;AG()NjOO:
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 2Khv>#l
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 !5N.B|Nt
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this W@esITr
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been
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accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in xyxy`qR A
the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). Uw:"n]G]D?
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US %
AgUUn&k
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 7|H$ /]
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and d_
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back {4PwLCy
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs {.]7!ISl5
were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living u%!@(eKM-
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be !n%j)`0M
expected to increase further. ;F Eqe49