Harvey, Samantha (2010) The Difference in Category Norms between McEvoy and Nelson's (1982) Study and Today. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Category norms are the instances provided by members of the population when asked for a member of a category. Previous studies have indicated that the passage of time can affect the relevancy of earlier category norms within the current population. Previous studies however contain certain limitations that can cause inaccuracy in results and lower their norm’s generalisability to the Australian population. This study therefore aimed to look at the differences over time between the category norms found in McEvoy and Nelson’s (1982) study and the current category norm data, which for these purposes refer to the most frequent responses given by each participant in each of the categories being compared. The Category List Questionnaire was used to test a voluntary convenience sample of 173 participants who were recruited over the last two years for inclusion in the “Current” category norm data group (Mean age = 40.00, SD = 15.91, 51% Females, 49% Males). The second group of participants, “McEvoy and Nelson”, included participants who were recruited in the 1982 McEvoy and Nelson study and comprised a total of 169 participants (no age or gender data were obtainable), thus creating a total of 342 participants.
Chi-Square Tests of Independence using Fisher’s Exact Correction conducted between the Current and McEvoy and Nelson groups revealed that the most frequent responses given to a majority of the comparison categories in the McEvoy and Nelson study were significantly different from the most frequent responses given to a majority of the comparison categories in the Current study. Of the 102 categories examined, 90 were found to be significantly different at the 5% significance cut-off. This means that approximately 89% of the categories produced different response patterns from 28 years ago. These findings support the need for regularly updated category norms to be used within the general population of Australia as previous category norms simply do not generalise to the current Australian population in which they are being used. Clinical implications of this are that category norms will need to be updated regularly and researchers will need to be cautious of the category norming data they apply in their work with members of the Australian population, as not all data are generalisable across populations.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Hendry, Liam |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Psychology) |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jan 2026 02:02 |
| Last Modified: | 08 Jan 2026 02:02 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52396 |
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