| Binet | 66 |
| Kuhlmann | 68 |
| Bobertag | 78 |
| Dougherty | 64 |
| Strong | 72 |
| Léviste and Morlé | 70 |
| Stanford series (1911) | 62 |
| Stanford series (1913) | 57 |
| Stanford series (1914) | 62 |
| Princeton data | 61 |
This agreement is noteworthy considering that no two experiments seem to have used exactly the same arrangement of words, and that some have presented the words of a sentence in a single line, others in two or three lines. A single line would appear to be somewhat easier.
XII, 5. Interpretation of fables (score 4)
The following fables are used:—
(a) Hercules and the Wagoner
A man was driving along a country road, when the wheels suddenly sank in a deep rut. The man did nothing but look at the wagon and call loudly to Hercules to come and help him. Hercules came up, looked at the man, and said: “Put your shoulder to the wheel, my man, and whip up your oxen.” Then he went away and left the driver.
(b) The Milkmaid and her Plans
A milkmaid was carrying her pail of milk on her head, and was thinking to herself thus: “The money for this milk will buy 4 hens; the hens will lay at least 100 eggs; the eggs will produce at least 75 chicks; and with the money which the chicks will bring I can buy a new dress to wear instead of the ragged one I have on.” At this moment she looked down at herself, trying to think how she would look in her new dress; but as she did so the pail of milk slipped from her head and dashed upon the ground. Thus all her imaginary schemes perished in a moment.
(c) The Fox and the Crow
A crow, having stolen a bit of meat, perched in a tree and held it in her beak. A fox, seeing her, wished to secure the meat, and spoke to the crow thus: “How handsome you are! and I have heard that the beauty of your voice is equal to that of your form and feathers. Will you not sing for me, so that I may judge whether this is true?” The crow was so pleased that she opened her mouth to sing and dropped the meat, which the fox immediately ate.
(d) The Farmer and the Stork
A farmer set some traps to catch cranes which had been eating his seed. With them he caught a stork. The stork, which had not really been stealing, begged the farmer to spare his life, saying that he was a bird of excellent character, that he was not at all like the cranes, and that the farmer should have pity on him. But the farmer said: “I have caught you with these robbers, and you will have to die with them.”
(e) The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey
A miller and his son were driving their donkey to a neighboring town to sell him. They had not gone far when a child saw them and cried out: “What fools those fellows are to be trudging along on foot when one of them might be riding.” The old man, hearing this, made his son get on the donkey, while he himself walked. Soon, they came upon some men. “Look,” said one of them, “see that lazy boy riding while his old father has to walk.” On hearing this, the miller made his son get off, and he climbed on the donkey himself. Farther on they met a company of women, who shouted out: “Why, you lazy old fellow, to ride along so comfortably while your poor boy there can hardly keep pace by the side of you!” And so the good-natured miller took his boy up behind him and both of them rode. As they came to the town a citizen said to them, “Why, you cruel fellows! You two are better able to carry the poor little donkey than he is to carry you.” “Very well,” said the miller, “we will try.” So both of them jumped to the ground, got some ropes, tied the donkey’s legs to a pole and tried to carry him. But as they crossed the bridge the donkey became frightened, kicked loose and fell into the stream.
Procedure. Present the fables in the order in which they are given above. The method is to say to the subject:
“You know what a fable is? You have heard fables?” Whatever the answer, proceed to explain a fable as follows: “A fable, you know, is a little story, and is meant to teach us a lesson. Now, I am going to read a fable to you. Listen carefully, and when I am through I will ask you to tell me what lesson the fable teaches us. Ready; listen.” After reading the fable, say: “What lesson does that teach us?” Record the response verbatim and proceed with the next as follows: “Here is another. Listen again and tell me what lesson this fable teaches us,” etc.
As far as possible, avoid comment or commendation until all the fables have been given. If the first answer is of an inferior type and we express too much satisfaction with it, we thereby encourage the subject to continue in his error. On the other hand, never express dissatisfaction with a response, however absurd or malapropos it may be. Many subjects are anxious to know how well they are doing and continually ask, “Did I get that one right?” It is sufficient to say, “You are getting along nicely,” or something to that effect. Offer no comments, suggestions, or questions which might put the subject on the right track. This much self-control is necessary if we would make the conditions of the test uniform for all subjects.
The only occasion when a supplementary question is permissible is in case of a response whose meaning is not clear. Even then we must be cautious and restrict ourselves to some such question as, “What do you mean?” or, “Explain; I don’t quite understand what you mean.” The scoring of fables is somewhat difficult at best, and this additional question is often sufficient to place the response very definitely in the right or wrong column.
Scoring. Give score 2, i.e., 2 points, for a correct answer, and 1 for an answer which deserves half credit. The test is passed in year XII if 4 points are earned; that is, if two responses are correct or if one is correct and two deserve half credit.