Pacific Islanders - I.Q and Human Intelligence

Pacific Islanders are the Natives of the many Pacific islands, the main ones being New Zealand, the island group of Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Hawaii. In their genetic analysis, Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi and Piazza (1994) identify Micronesians, Polynesians and Melanesians as a separate genetic cluster. The inhabitants of the Pacific Islands are a minor race, with only 1.5 million people. They are about 350 thousand Maori in New Zealand, 380 thousand on the Solomon Islands, and about the same number on the Fiji Islands. Their population is 170 thousand west of the island of Samoa and 100 thousand on Tonga. They are genetically very close to the Southeast Asians (Cambodia, Indonesia …) from which they separated just 6000 years ago.

1. IQ of Maori in New Zealand

2. IQ of Other Inhabitants in the Pacific Islands

3. IQ of Pacific Islanders-Europeans hybrids and Pacific Islanders-Chinese hybrids

1. IQ of Maori in New Zealand

The median value is 85.

Table 9.1. IQs of New Zealand Maoris

	Age	N	Test	g	Reas	Verb	Vis	Reference
1	12-41	53	WB	91	–	92	94	Adcock et al., 1954
2	13	214	PMA	90	90	94	87	Walters, 1958
3	15	98	OTIS	82	–	–	–	Ausubel, 1961
4	11	18	WB	81	–	79	84	Ritchie, 1966
5	8-12	238	OTIS	85	–	–	–	Lovegrove, 1966
6	13-14	236	OTIS	81	–	–	–	Du Chareau, 1967
7	14	77	OTIS	84	–	–	–	Martin, 1969
8	5-7	80	Verbal	90	–	90	–	Clay, 1971
9	14	55	SPM	88	–	–	–	Codd, 1972
10	4-6	151	PIPS	96	–	–	–	St. George & St. George, 1975
11	9	211	SPM/VC	91	91	91	–	Harker, 1978
12	8-14	303	QT	95	–	–	–	St. George, 1983
13	10-12	130	TOSCA	90	–	–	–	St. George & Chapman, 1983
14	8-9	22	WISC-R	92	–	–	–	Fergusson et al., 1991
15	Adults	103	VR	92	–	–	–	Guenole et al., 2003

2. IQ of other inhabitants in the Pacific Islands

The median value is 85.

Table 9.2. IQs of Pacific Islanders

	Location	Age	N	Test	g	Reference
1	Hawaii	6-12	105	Binet	85	Porteus & Babcock, 1926
2	Hawaii	10-14	302	NV	90	Smith, 1942
3	Hawaii	10-14	319	NV	82	Smith, 1942
4	Mariana Islands	6-16	200	Arthur	81	Joseph & Murray, 1951
5	Marshall Islands	12-18	407	CF	84	Jordheim & Olsen, 1963
6	Samoa	5-7	80	Verbal	90	Clay, 1971
7	Papua N. Guinea	17-18	152	SOP	82	Waldron & Gallimore, 1973
8	Cook Islands	4-6	110	PIPS	89	St. George, 1974
9	Fiji	12	76	QT	84	Chandra, 1975
10	Tonga	8-9	80	PAT	86	Beck & St. George, 1983
11	Papua N. Guinea	7-10	241	BG	83	Robin & Shea, 1983
12	Hawaii-Filipinos	16	3,507	STAS	89	Brandon et al., 1987
13	New Caledonia	5-10	96	KB	85	Cottereau-Reiss & Lehalle, 1988
14	Pacific Islands	9-17	65	SPM	88	Reid & Gilmore, 1989

3. IQ of Pacific Islanders-Europeans hybrids and Pacific Islanders-Chinese hybrids

The IQ of both groups of hybrid children are slightly above the average of the two parental races. The average IQ of European / Hawaiian couples is 90.5, while the IQ of their children is 93. Similarly, the average IQ of Chinese / Hawaiian couples is 90, whereas the IQ of children is 91.
The average IQs of the hybrids, slightly higher than the prediction based on the average of the two parental races, can be attributed to the phenomenon of “hybrid vigor” or heterosis, often present in crosses between two different populations. The same phenomenon was found in Hawaii in a study of children of Asiatic and European parents, whose IQ was 4 points higher than children of Asians and Europeans (Nagoshi and Johnson, 1986). Couples of parents had the same education and comparable socio-economic status, suggesting that this is a genetic effect.

References for the whole page « Race differences in intelligence. An evolutionary Analysis », Chapter 8, Richard Lynn, Washington Summit Publisher, 1st edition 2006 et 2nd edition 2015.