CHAPTER 4 - INTERNATIONAL KENT ROSANOFF WORD ASSOCIATION NORMS, EMPHASIZING THOSE OF FRENCH MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS AND FRENCH WORKMEN ,

Abstract

This chapter discusses the history of use of the Kent–Rosanoff list of word association stimuli. It describes the two sets of French word association norms and the conditions under which they were obtained. The difference between speakers of English and of Western European languages in the diversification of their responses is brought out by the use of the rank-frequency function. The chapter presents a comparison of few of the main characteristics of the sets of Kent–Rosanoff norms among countries and across languages. A simple and frequently used measure of similarity of responses among normative studies is to count the number of items for which the primary responses are identical. This method can be used to compare norms in different languages, to the extent that confidence can be placed in the translation. The chapter also presents a classification of the primary responses of French and American students and workers in terms of grammatical classes of stimuli and responses.