The test is psychologically related to that of [giving differences] in year VII and to the [two] [tests] of finding similarities; but it differs from these in requiring a comparison based on fundamental rather than accidental distinctions. The idea is good and should be worked out in additional tests of the same type.

The test first appeared in the Binet revised scale of 1911. Kuhlmann omits it, and besides our own there are few statistics bearing on it. Our results show that if two essential differences are required, the test belongs where we have placed it, but that if only one essential difference is required, the test is easy enough for year XII.

XIV, 4. Problem questions

Procedure. Say to the subject: “Listen, and see if you can understand what I read.” Then read the following three problems, rather slowly and with expression, pausing after each long enough for the subject to find an answer:—

  1. “A man who was walking in the woods near a city stopped suddenly, very much frightened, and then ran to the nearest policeman, saying that he had just seen hanging from the limb of a tree a ... a what?”
  2. “My neighbor has been having queer visitors. First a doctor came to his house, then a lawyer, then a minister (preacher or priest). What do you think happened there?”
  3. “An Indian who had come to town for the first time in his life saw a white man riding along the street. As the white man rode by, the Indian said—‘The white man is lazy; he walks sitting down.’ What was the white man riding on that caused the Indian to say, ‘He walks sitting down’?”

Do not ask questions calculated to draw out the correct response, but wait in silence for the subject’s spontaneous answer. It is permissible, however, to re-read the passage if the subject requests it.

Scoring. Two responses out of three must be satisfactory. The following explanations and examples will make clear the requirements of the test:—

(a) What the man saw hanging

Satisfactory. The only correct answer for the first is “A man who had hung himself” (or who had committed suicide, been hanged, etc.). We may also pass the following answer: “Dead branches that looked like a man hanging.”

A good many subjects answer simply, “A man.” This answer cannot be scored because of the impossibility of knowing what is in the subject’s mind, and in such cases it is always necessary to say: “Explain what you mean.” The answer to this interrogation always enables us to score the response.

Unsatisfactory. There is an endless variety of failures: “A snake,” “A monkey,” “A robber,” or “A tramp” being the most common. Others include such answers as “A bear,” “A tiger,” “A wild cat,” “A cat,” “A bird,” “An eagle,” “A bird’s nest,” “A hornet’s nest,” “A leaf,” “A swing,” “A boy in a swing,” “A basket of flowers,” “An egg,” “A ghost,” “A white sheet,” “Clothes,” “A purse,” etc.

(b) My neighbor

Satisfactory. The expected answer is “A death,” “Some one has died,” etc. We must always check up this response, however, by asking what the lawyer came for, and this must also be answered correctly.

While it is expected that the subject will understand that the doctor came to attend a sick person, the lawyer to make his will, and the minister to preach the funeral, there are a few other ingenious interpretations which pass as satisfactory. For example, “A man got hurt in an accident; the doctor came to make him well, the lawyer to see about damages, and then he died and the preacher came for the funeral.” Or, “A man died, the lawyer came to help the widow settle the estate and the preacher came for the funeral.” We can hardly expect the 14-year-old child to know that it is not the custom to settle an estate until after the funeral.

The following excellent response was given by an enlightened young eugenist: “A marriage; the doctor came to examine them and see if they were fit to marry, the lawyer to arrange the marriage settlement, and the minister to marry them.” The following logical responses occurred once each: “A murder. The doctor came to examine the body, the lawyer to get evidence, and the preacher to preach the funeral.” “An unmarried girl has given birth to a child. The lawyer was employed to get the man to marry her and then the preacher came to perform the wedding ceremony.” Perhaps some will consider this interpretation too far-fetched to pass. But it is perfectly logical and, unfortunately, represents an occurrence which is not so very rare.

If an incorrect answer is first given and then corrected, the correction is accepted.

Unsatisfactory. The failures again are quite varied, but are most frequently due to failure to understand the lawyer’s mission. Of 66 tabulated failures, 26 are accounted for in this way, while only 6 are due to inability to state the part played by the minister. The most common incorrect responses are: “A baby born” (accounting for 5 out of 66 failures); “A divorce” (very common with the children tested by Dr. Ordahl, at Reno, Nevada!); “A marriage”; “A divorce and a remarriage”; “A dinner”; “An entertainment”; “Some friends came to chat,” etc. In 20 failures out of 66, marriage was incorrectly connected with a will, a divorce, the death of a child, etc.

The following are not bad, but hardly deserve to pass: “Sickness and trouble; the lawyer and minister came to help him out of trouble.” Or, “Somebody was sick; the lawyer wanted his money and the minister came to see how he was.” A few present a still more logical interpretation, but so far-fetched that it is doubtful whether they should count as passes; for example: “A man and his wife had a fight. One got hurt and had to have the doctor, then they had a lawyer to get them divorced, then the minister came to marry one of them.” Again, “Some one is dying and is getting married and making his will before he dies.”

(c) What the man was riding on

The only correct response is “Bicycle.” The most common error is horse (or donkey), accounting for 48 out of 71 tabulated failures. Vehicles, like wagon, buggy, automobile, or street car, were mentioned in 14 out of 71 failures. Bizarre replies are: “A cripple in a wheel chair”; “A person riding on some one’s back,” etc.

Remarks. The experiment is a form of the completion test. Elements of a situation are given, out of which the entire situation is to be constructed. This phase of intelligence has already been discussed.[74]

While it is generally admitted that the underlying idea of this test is good, some have criticized Binet’s selection of problems. Meumann thinks the lawyer element of the second is so unfamiliar to children as to render that part of the test unfair. Several “armchair” critics have mentioned the danger of nervous shock from the first problem. Bobertag throws out the test entirely and substitutes a completion test modeled after that of Ebbinghaus. Our own results are altogether favorable to the test. If it is used in year XIV, Meumann’s objection hardly holds, for American children of that age do ordinarily know something about making wills. As for the danger of shock from the first problem, we have never once found the slightest evidence of this much-feared result. The subject always understands that the situation depicted is hypothetical, and so answers either in a matter-of-fact manner or with a laugh.