Are you afraid of “burglars,” “contagious diseases,” and “negroes”? According to the Terman-Miles test, your answer might say a lot about you, including your gender.
Consisting of 455 questions and prompts, the Terman-Miles test was considered a breakthrough in modern psychology after it debuted in 1936. On the test, the taker is judged by whether they can answer questions based on what is considered appropriate for their gender. You pass the test if you adhere to social norms, but if you were male and answered too femininely, it was considered a sign of “sexual inversion.” Terman and Miles believed that a man or a woman with an undesirable test result might “develop into a practicing homosexual if [they] were not one already.”
You could call the Terman-Miles test the original BuzzFeed quiz—except unlike “How ‘Bro’ Are You?” it wasn’t a fun way to pass the time. It was just evil.
How do you score on the masculinity-femininity scale? Here are some excerpts from the test. (It’s best to have a friend administer to you, if possible.)
+ indicates a masculine response; – indicates a feminine response; 0 indicates a neutral response
Exercise 1:
Look at the word in capital letters, then look at each of the four words that follow it.
For example: HORSE: cow hay race swim
Draw a line under the world that seems to you to go best or most naturally with HORSE; that is, the word that HORSE tends to make you think of.
1) POLE
a. barber 0
b. cat +
c. North –
d. telephone +
2) DATE
a. appointment –
b. dance +
c. fruit +
d. history +
3) BAR
a. drink +
b. prisoner –
c. sand +
d. stop –
4) SHARP
a. bright –
b. flat –
c. knife 0
d. pin +
5) TRUNK
a. baggage 0
b. elephant +
c. travel –
d. tree 0
6) ORDER
a. buy –
b. command +
c. neat –
d. quiet –
7) CASE
a. bottles +
b. container 0
c. doctor –
d. grammar –
8) POST
a. fence +
b. gate –
c. letter –
d. mail 0
9) TENDER
a. kind –
b. loving –
c. meat +
d. sore 0
10) JACK
a. cards –
b. money +
c. tool +
d. toy –
11) TRAIN
a. engine +
b. gown –
c. travel –
d. whistle –
12) DRAW
a. blood +
b. bridge +
c. pencil –
d. picture 0
13) BRACE
a. bit +
b. pair –
c. strap –
d. support –
14) FLY
a. airplane +
b. bird –
c. nasty 0
d. travel –
15) BOND
a. love +
b. paper –
c. security +
d. tie –
16) PASS
a. car 0
b. mountain +
c. over –
d. subject –
17) RAIN
a. clouds +
b. umbrella –
c. weather +
d. wet 0
18) BOOK
a. cover 0
b. paper +
c. print +
d. read –
19) PURE
a. good –
b. milk +
c. water –
d. white 0
20) MOON
a. light +
b. month 0
c. night –
d. round –
[We’re skipping Exercise 2, because it wasn’t interesting.]
Exercise 3:
In each sentence draw a line under the word that makes the sentence true.
Example: America was discovered by BALBOA COLUMBUS DRAKE WASHINGTON
1) Marigold is a kind of
a. fabric +
b. flower –
c. grain –
d. stone +
2) Things cooked in grease are
a. boiled +
b. broiled +
c. fried –
d. roasted +
3) The Yale is a kind of
a. hammer 0
b. lock +
c. screen 0
d. wrench 0
4) We should drink tea from the
a. cup –
b. saucer +
c. spoon +
5) Pongee is a kind of
a. cloth –
b. drink 0
c. flower 0
d. game +
6) The most gold is produced in
a. Alaska +
b. New York 0
c. Tennessee –
d. Texas –
7) The earth moves around the sun in
a. 7 days –
b. 30 days 0
c. 180 days –
d. 365 days +
8) A stately dance of colonial days was the
a. minuet –
b. polka +
c. two-step 0
d. waltz +
9) One must run fast in
a. fruit basket –
b. jackstones +
c. tin-tin +
d. wood-tag 0
10) Beethoven is known as a
a. composer –
b. painter +
c. poet +
d. singer –
11) Most of our anthracite coal comes from
a. Alabama –
b. Colorado –
c. Ohio –
d. Pennsylvania +
12) The number of players on a baseball team is
a. 7 –
b. 9 +
c. 11 –
d. 13 0
13) Eggs are best for us when
a. deviled –
b. fried +
c. hard-boiled +
d. soft-boiled –
14) A loom is used for
a. cooking +
b. embroidering +
c. sewing +
d. weaving –
15) Peat is used for
a. fuel +
b. pavement –
c. plaster 0
d. road-making 0
16) Marco Polo was a famous
a. king 0
b. philosopher –
c. traveler +
d. warrior –
17) Tokyo is a city of
a. China –
b. India –
c. Japan +
d. Russia 0
18) The first American naval hero was
a. Hull –
b. John Paul Jones +
c. Lawrence +
d. Winslow –
Exercise 4:
Below is a list of things that sometimes cause anger. After each thing mentioned, draw a circle around VM, M, L, or N to show how much anger it causes you.
VM means VERY MUCH; M means MUCH; L means A LITTLE; N means NONE
1) Being blamed for something you have not done
VM –
M 0
L +
N 0
2) Being called lazy
VM –
M 0
L 0
N +
3) Being called stupid
VM –
M 0
L +
N 0
4) Being called a thief
VM 0
M 0
L +
N –
5) Being deceived by a supposed friend
VM –
M 0
L 0
N 0
6) Being disturbed when you want to work
VM 0
M 0
L +
N –
7) Being snubbed by an inferior
VM –
M 0
L –
N +
8) Being unexpectedly slapped on the back as a joke
VM –
M 0
L –
N +
9) Hearing someone make fun of your clothes
VM –
M 0
L 0
N +
10) Hearing your political views ridiculed
VM 0
M –
L +
N +
11) Seeing boys make fun of old people
VM –
M +
L +
N 0
12) Seeing an honest official thrown out of office by politicians
VM 0
M 0
L +
N –
13) Seeing a person laugh at a cripple
VM –
M +
L 0
N +
14) Seeing people disfigure library books
VM –
M –
L +
N +
15) Seeing someone cheat in an examination
VM –
M 0
L +
N +
16) Seeing someone try to discredit you with your employer
VM +
M 0
L +
N –
17) Seeing someone laugh when a blind man runs into an obstacle
VM –
M +
L +
N +
Below is a list of things that often cause fear. After each thing mentioned, draw a circle around VM, M, L, or N to indicate how much fear it causes you. Be honest and admit all the fears you have. Fears are not disgraceful.
VM means VERY MUCH; M means MUCH; L means A LITTLE; N means NONE
1) Automobiles
VM 0
M –
L –
N +
2) Being lost
VM –
M –
L +
N +
3) Being in a closed room
VM –
M –
L 0
N +
4) Becoming deaf or blind
VM –
M +
L +
N –
5) Bulls
VM –
M –
L +
N +
6) Burglars
VM –
M 0
L +
N +
7) Contagious diseases
VM 0
M +
L 0
N –
8) Deep water
VM –
M 0
L –
N +
9) End of the world
VM –
M –
L –
N +
10) Floods
VM –
M –
L +
N +
11) Garter snakes
VM –
M –
L –
N +
12) Graveyards at night
VM –
M –
L 0
N +
13) Heart trouble
VM –
M +
L +
N +
14) Insects
VM 0
M 0
L 0
N 0
15) Lightning
VM –
M 0
L –
N +
16) Negroes
VM –
M –
L –
N +
17) Pain
VM –
M 0
L –
N +
18) Punishment in the next world
VM 0
M 0
L –
N +
19) Thunder
VM –
M –
L –
N +
20) Windstorms
VM –
M –
L –
N +
Below is a list of acts of various degrees of wickedness of badness. After each thing mentioned, draw a circle around 3, 2, 1, or 0 to show how wicked or bad you think it is.
3 means “EXTREMELY WICKED”; 2 means “DECIDEDLY BAD”; 1 means “SOMEWHAT BAD”; 0 means “NOT REALLY BAD.”
1) Picking flowers in a public park
3 0
2 –
1 +
0 +
2) Stealing a ride on a truck
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
3) Telling a lie to avoid punishment
3 –
2 +
1 +
0 +
4) Whispering in school
3 +
2 0
1 –
0 0
5) Boys teasing girls
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
6) Making fun of cripples
3 –
2 +
1 +
0 –
7) Using slang
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
8) Breaking windows
3 –
2 +
1 0
0 +
9) Boys smoking before they are 21
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
10) Indulging in “petting”
3 –
2 –
1 0
0 +
11) Moderate drinking
3 –
2 0
1 +
0 +
12) Excessive drinking
3 –
2 +
1 +
0 0
13) Putting pins on the teacher’s chair
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
14) Swiping fruit out of orchards
3 –
2 0
1 +
0 +
15) Laziness
3 –
2 0
1 –
0 +
16) Going to bed without saying your prayers
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
17) Not brushing your teeth
3 –
2 0
1 +
0 +
18) Boys fighting
3 –
2 –
1 +
0 +
19) Being a slacker in time of war
3 0
2 0
1 +
0 0
20) Boy running away from home
3 0
2 –
1 0
0 +
21) Neglecting to study your lesson
3 0
2 –
1 0
0 0
22) Being a Bolshevik
3 +
2 –
1 0
0 0
23) Not standing up when the “Star-Spangled Banner” is played
3 –
2 +
1 +
0 –
24) Drinking a great deal of coffee and tea
3 0
2 +
1 –
0 0
25) Being cross to your brother and sister
3 +
2 –
1 0
0 0
26) Shooting rabbits for fun
3 –
2 0
1 +
0 +
27) Having fits of temper
3 0
2 –
1 +
0 +
28) Insulting the defenseless
3 –
2 +
1 +
0 0
[Note: Terman and Miles didn’t provide the key to score the test, but I’m going to wager we all failed this one.]
Photo via COCOEN daily photos/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
