The 60-item Boston Naming Test: Cultural bias and possible adaptations for New Zealand

This study examined whether a sample of New Zealand university students performed differently on the 60-item Boston Naming Test (BNT) when compared to published North American norms. The BNT was administered to 58 New Zealand university students, and their performance was compared to published data from North America. Mean performance of the sample was significantly worse than published North American norms. In comparing proportion of errors made on BNT items, New Zealanders made 60% more error on the items pretzel and beaver, and 20% more errors on the items globe, funnel, and tripod than did North Americans. In addition, the New Zealand sample made 20% more errors on the item asparagus than North American and Australian samples. Within the New Zealand sample, Maori individuals performed significantly worse than European individuals. Items contributing to this difference included canoe, beaver, and abacus. It was concluded that in administering the BNT to New Zealanders attention should be given to the potential for cultural biases. Adaptations to better reflect New Zealand culture are suggested.