Measure Your Mind: The Mentimeter and How to Use ItTrabue, Marion Rex
Science
Measure Your Mind: The Mentimeter and How to Use It
Trabue, Marion Rex
Educational tests and measurements; Intelligence tests; Psychological tests
One of the most popular tests in the Army Beta series was the mutilated
pictures test, in which the soldiers were to draw into each picture what
had been omitted. One great difficulty with this test was the tendency
of intelligent men to spend far too much time trying to draw
artistically the missing parts. The present test is a modification of
that test, so arranged that instead of the candidate being required to
draw a missing part he is only asked to make a check mark at the point
where there is something that does not fit the remainder of the picture.
The test booklet is arranged with two samples on the title page to show
clearly what is to be done when the candidate opens his booklet. By
having these samples painted on the wall or blackboard, it would be
possible to give the test to large groups of persons at once, although
the directions given below are for testing one individual only at a
time. Although listed as a test for non-English-speaking persons, some
oral direction should accompany the motions by which the test is to be
given, and English-speaking persons may be examined by this test as
readily as those who speak a foreign language.
The graduation of the pictures according to their approximate difficulty
makes the score in this test a real measure of the degree of absurdity
which an individual can detect. The pictures themselves were chosen from
as wide a field as possible in order to avoid undue advantage to persons
of one type of experience rather than another. Only intelligent persons
of fairly wide general experience will be able to make a perfect score
in the time allowed.
_Directions for Giving the Test._
The examiner and the candidate to be examined should be comfortably
seated at a table with the examination booklet between them. If it is
discovered that the candidate is left-handed, the examiner should sit on
the left, although under ordinary circumstances the examiner should sit
on the right. The blanks on the title page of the booklet should be
filled out by the examiner from any records he may have of the name and
age of the candidate (if persons who read and understand English are
being examined, several may be tested at once and each may be asked to
fill out the blanks for himself). For persons who do not understand the
English language the words which are used in the following explanations
will be more suggestive than informing. The chief part of the
demonstration will be the motions through which the examiner goes, and
therefore great care should be taken that these be as suggestive of what
is wanted as the examiner can make them. To secure uniformity of
procedure the routine outline below should be carefully followed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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