Normative Indications for Xhosa Speaking Unskilled Workers on the Trail Making and Stroop Tests

Abstract

The aim of this study was to produce preliminary normative indications for the Trail Making Test and the Stroop Test, administered in English, on a non-clinical sample of Black, Xhosa speaking unskilled workers (N = 33), with an educational level of Grade 11 or Grade 12 from traditionally Black township schools with a relatively disadvantaged quality of education. The sample was equally distributed for sex and level of education, and was divided into two age categories (18–29 and 30–40 years). Within-sample age and gender effects were revealed for the Stroop test only. The younger group performed better than the older group on the Colour Word task, and women performed significantly better than men on the Word task. Normative indications for both measures were descriptively compared to available normative data on westernized populations with relatively advantaged education. The research outcome endorses the need for local norms for use with educationally disadvantaged Xhosa speaking individuals.

Keywords:

• Stroop
• Trail Making Test
• norms
• cross-cultural