Intercohort upsurge of cognitive ability among the general population in China: Evaluating a Flynn effect

Abstract

Drawing on data from three waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we find a substantial intercohort upsurge of both vocabulary and mathematical abilities among the Chinese general population born between 1935 and 1984. Consistent with the well-established Flynn effect, Chinese adults boost their average vocabulary score by 3.21 points and mathematical score by 3.83 points per decade. Further examinations suggest that the observed intercohort gains in cognition are largely associated with educational expansion, nutritional improvement and reduced family size. These factors together account for about 76% of vocabulary gains and 79% of mathematical gains. Moreover, subgroup analyses reveal that females gain at a much faster pace than do males in terms of both vocabulary and mathematical scores among the studied cohorts, with young females catching up and even surpassing males in the recent cohorts; while rural residents still fall behind their urban counterparts for both vocabulary and mathematical abilities. Taken together, these findings are consistent with the life history theory and strongly support the fundamental role of socioenvironmental changes in producing the Flynn effect.