Part V: creating the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 2.0

North American Professional Norms

What is a Professional Norm?

In 2011, the EQ-i 2.0 was released with a General Population Norm sample, consisting of 4,000 people who closely represented the North American population at this point in time (refer to Standardization, Reliability, and Validity for more details). This General Population Norm group is used to compare your client’s score to the general (or average) North American, and is representative of the age, gender, ethnicity, and education compositions of North America. In essence, using the General Population Norm to compare your client’s score to the average person's score on the EQ-i 2.0 is the broadest comparison you can make. Such comparisons help you answer the following question, “How does my score compare to typical people in the general population?” This norm would include both working and non-working individuals, people with high and low education levels, etc.

Sometimes you or your client may want a more specific comparison. For instance, you may want to compare your client to other similar individuals, such as other professionals. The Professional Norm enables you to do just that: it allows you to compare your client’s score to professionals rather than to the average person.

The Professional Norm does not replace the General Population Norm, but is another option you may select from when generating your EQ-i 2.0 reports.