How to Pick a Mate: The Guide to a Happy Marriage

Chapter XI
Test Your Mate and Yourself

Now you are going to take ten tests that will record how well qualified you are to marry. Your over-all score will indicate your chances of achieving a happy marriage, with whomever you may marry. These tests can be taken by either men or girls. And we suggest that after you take the tests you have your favorite date take them too. Then in the next chapter you can see how well you are matched.

In addition to scoring your desirability as a mate, the tests will help unveil for you your own personality. They will present you as you appear to other people. Be honest with yourself. There are no catch questions.

If you wish you can get a piece of paper to write your answers on. If you do this you will not mark up the book, nobody will know how you answered, and any other person taking the tests will not be influenced by your answers.

Don’t look up the correct answers until you have finished all the tests. After you have completed all ten tests you can then see how they should be scored. Some of these traits are more important to marriage happiness than others, and some are more important for one sex than the other. Be sure not to talk over any of the questions with anyone until after you have taken all the tests. Now go ahead, and work rapidly.

TRAIT I (Sociability)

Indicate the degree of your liking for each of the following activities by drawing a circle around M if you would like it a great deal, around S if you would have some liking for it, around L if you would have a little liking for it, around N if you would have practically no liking for it.

1.	Introducing strangers at a party.	M	S	L	N
2.	Entertaining a group of friends.	M	S	L	N
3.	Raising money for a charity.	M	S	L	N
4.	Taking part in some athletic contest.	M	S	L	N
5.	Going on a picnic.	M	S	L	N
6.	Playing games like golf, tennis, croquet, or darts.	M	S	L	N
7.	Reading the sporting section of the newspaper.	M	S	L	N
8.	Playing games like bridge, pinochle or Monopoly.	M	S	L	N
9.	Keeping a pet, such as a cat or dog.	M	S	L	N
10.	Attending a masquerade party.	M	S	L	N
11.	Performing on the radio.	M	S	L	N
12.	Being a delegate to a convention.	M	S	L	N
13.	Making long-distance telephone calls to friends.	M	S	L	N
14.	Preparing for an examination by studying with classmates.	M	S	L	N
15.	Helping a stranded motorist change a tire.	M	S	L	N

TRAIT II (Conformity)

Fifteen experts, each of whom had won success in a different field, were asked to give an opinion of the statements below. At least eight or more of the experts marked each statement below as true. Read each statement, and if you agree with the experts that the statement is true, draw a circle around A. If you agree but only with reservations, draw a circle around R. If you disagree with the experts, draw a circle around D.

1.	Shows with scantily dressed performers should not be permitted.	A	R	D
2.	No cultured person would ever use profanity.	A	R	D
3.	The right to vote should be given to persons of 18 years of age.	A	R	D
4.	No person except a law officer should be permitted to own a pistol.	A	R	D
5.	No acceptable excuse can ever be made for suicide.	A	R	D
6.	Children owe their parents more than their parents owe them.	A	R	D
7.	Few people would be better off dead than alive.	A	R	D
8.	Rich people are no happier than poor people.	A	R	D
9.	Natural resources should belong to individuals rather than to the government.	A	R	D
10.	Parents can decently support and educate two children in a city of 5000, with a total income of less than $200 per month.	A	R	D
11.	Parents should be permitted to punish or whip their children.	A	R	D
12.	Stealing cannot be excused on any grounds.	A	R	D
13.	Anything injurious to the human body, such as tobacco, should be outlawed.	A	R	D
14.	Highly intelligent people are just as happy as average people.	A	R	D
15.	The average person needs more mathematics than the eighth grade provides.	A	R	D

TRAIT III (Tranquillity)

Below is a list of the common annoyances which affect most people to some extent. Indicate your degree of annoyance for each of them by drawing a circle around M if it annoys you much, around S if it annoys you some, around L if it annoys you a little, and around N if it never annoys you.

1.	To have stop light turn red as you drive up to it.	M	S	L	N
2.	To drop an article when you have your arms full.	M	S	L	N
3.	To have to stand up in a streetcar or bus.	M	S	L	N
4.	To have to talk when you don’t feel like it.	M	S	L	N
5.	To be interrupted when reading a very interesting story.	M	S	L	N
6.	To have a casual visitor outstay his welcome.	M	S	L	N
7.	To be detained when you are in a hurry.	M	S	L	N
8.	To listen to radio when static is bad.	M	S	L	N
9.	To have someone break an engagement at the last minute.	M	S	L	N
10.	To be interrupted when you are talking.	M	S	L	N
11.	To have someone read over your shoulder.	M	S	L	N
12.	To miss a streetcar or bus.	M	S	L	N
13.	To have movie film break at an exciting point.	M	S	L	N
14.	To burn your mouth or tongue with hot food or beverage.	M	S	L	N
15.	To be accidentally locked out of your car or home.	M	S	L	N

TRAIT IV (Dependability)

Of the statements below, draw a circle around T for the ones you believe to be usually true; draw a circle around D for the ones whose truth you doubt; and draw a circle around F for the ones usually false.

1.	Prohibition encouraged many people to drink who had never drunk before.	T	D	F
2.	An unpopular person could often become popular by lowering his standards of conduct.	T	D	F
3.	People who date a great deal before marriage often make poor marriage mates.	T	D	F
4.	Students who are always taking the lead in class discussions are usually trying to get attention.	T	D	F
5.	Policemen “bawl out” people largely to satisfy their own sense of importance.	T	D	F
6.	People of high ideals usually have fewer friends than individuals whose ideals are not of the highest.	T	D	F
7.	A person is often a failure because of very high ethics.	T	D	F
8.	The very pretty girl with little ability often is more successful than the plain girl who has real ability.	T	D	F
9.	What you know is not so important to success as whom you know.	T	D	F
10.	Getting the breaks is more important to success than being well qualified.	T	D	F
11.	Few employees would loaf on the job if they were paid sufficient wages.	T	D	F
12.	Man is powerless in the hands of fate.	T	D	F
13.	People often try to impress others by saying that they are very fond of “highbrow” music and books.	T	D	F
14.	The law is harder on the poor man than on the rich man.	T	D	F
15.	The good “bluffer” succeeds nearly as well as the person who can deliver the goods.	T	D	F

TRAIT V (Stability)

Below is a list of the common fears that most people experience to some extent. Indicate your degree of fear for each of these things by drawing a circle around M if you would usually have considerable fear, around S if you would usually have some fear, around L if you would have a little fear, and around N if you would usually feel no fear.

1.	Being buried alive.	M	S	L	N
2.	Being bitten by a snake while walking alone in the woods.	M	S	L	N
3.	Being drowned at sea or while swimming.	M	S	L	N
4.	Friends losing confidence in you because of untrue rumors.	M	S	L	N
5.	Walking past graveyards alone late at night.	M	S	L	N
6.	Having friends learn about your worst faults.	M	S	L	N
7.	Touching mice, rats, worms, or lizards.	M	S	L	N
8.	Losing your wife or sweetheart to somebody else.	M	S	L	N
9.	Getting too deeply in debt or having financial misfortune.	M	S	L	N
10.	Looking down from the edge of a precipice.	M	S	L	N
11.	Being punished in the next world.	M	S	L	N
12.	Elevator falling while descending from the top of a skyscraper.	M	S	L	N
13.	Losing your mind or becoming insane.	M	S	L	N
14.	Losing your eyesight.	M	S	L	N
15.	Listening to radio horror story late at night while alone.	M	S	L	N

TRAIT VI (Standards and Ideals)

Indicate the degree of your dislike for each of the following activities or things by drawing a circle around M if you would dislike it a great deal, around S if you would dislike it some, around L if you would have a little dislike for it, and around N if you would have no dislike for it.

1.	A person who brags about his achievements.	M	S	L	N
2.	Individuals who always put the blame on somebody else.	M	S	L	N
3.	Storekeepers who never make mistakes except in their favor.	M	S	L	N
4.	Extreme pessimists or people who always expect the worst.	M	S	L	N
5.	A girl who is a gold-digger.	M	S	L	N
6.	The person who “forgets” to pay his share of the check.	M	S	L	N
7.	People who are never on time for appointments.	M	S	L	N
8.	People who have little control over their tempers.	M	S	L	N
9.	The girl who uses excessive make-up.	M	S	L	N
10.	People who cheat on examinations.	M	S	L	N
11.	Individuals who are careless and indifferent about dress.	M	S	L	N
12.	Radicals or reactionaries who impose their views upon you.	M	S	L	N
13.	Individuals who are always bored and never have a good time.	M	S	L	N
14.	A person who gambles for money.	M	S	L	N
15.	Listening to scandalous gossip.	M	S	L	N

TRAIT VII (Steadiness)

Each word in capitals is followed by four words. Draw a circle around the word that seems to you to go most naturally with the word in capitals. Mark only one word in each line.

For example:

TRAVEL

boat

ship

train

car

Here car has been encircled. There are no right or wrong answers. Work rapidly.

1.	PAST	yesterday	forget	sorrow	hidden
2.	SLEEP	rest	dream	need	together
3.	IMMORAL	vulgar	person	vile	criminal
4.	DREAM	vision	night	trance	romance
5.	LOVE	adore	esteem	worship	yearn
6.	BABY	home	future	unwanted	cost
7.	LONELY	solitary	friendless	miserable	forsaken
8.	DEBT	obligation	weight	necessary	nightmare
9.	SWEETHEART	love	engaged	wistful	lost
10.	MONEY	currency	pay	lack	urgent
11.	ENEMY	foe	hated	dangerous	destroyed
12.	FILTHY	dirty	disgusting	mind	body
13.	PARENT	home	love	depend	strict
14.	SIN	wrong	vice	guilt	black
15.	REVOLTING	distasteful	repulsive	loathsome	degrading

TRAIT VIII (Flexibility)

Below is a list of activities or things. If you feel about the same way toward them now that you did three or four years ago, draw a circle around S. If you have partly changed your feelings toward them, draw a circle around P. If your feeling now is considerably different from your feeling three or four years ago, draw a circle around D.

1.	Pacifism.	S	P	D
2.	Labor unions.	S	P	D
3.	Less governmental supervision of business.	S	P	D
4.	Old-age pensions.	S	P	D
5.	Sit-down strikes.	S	P	D
6.	Socialization of medicine.	S	P	D
7.	Emphasis that colleges place upon activities.	S	P	D
8.	The Soviet Union.	S	P	D
9.	Distribution of wealth.	S	P	D
10.	Capital punishment.	S	P	D
11.	Sterilization of the feeble-minded.	S	P	D
12.	“Work-or-starve” relief legislation.	S	P	D
13.	Need for polls like the Gallup or Fortune polls of public opinion.	S	P	D
14.	Basing taxation on the ability to pay.	S	P	D
15.	Preferences for styles of homes.	S	P	D

TRAIT IX (Seriousness)

Below is a list of topics which people consider to some extent at one time or another. Will you indicate the degree of thinking you have given each of them during the past year by drawing a circle around M if you have done much thinking; around S if you have done some thinking; around L if you have done a little thinking; and around N if you have done no thinking.

1.	Responsibilities that parents and children should share.	M	S	L	N
2.	Proper training of children.	M	S	L	N
3.	Immoral influences of movies on children.	M	S	L	N
4.	Smoking of cigarettes by girls and women.	M	S	L	N
5.	Importance of regular saving of part of income.	M	S	L	N
6.	Use of the atomic bomb in warfare.	M	S	L	N
7.	Regular attendance of religious services.	M	S	L	N
8.	The way or place to spend your vacation.	M	S	L	N
9.	Stricter censorship of books and magazines.	M	S	L	N
10.	Learning to dance, ski, skate, etc.	M	S	L	N
11.	Punctuality on a job or regular class attendance.	M	S	L	N
12.	Getting better grades at school or working for a promotion.	M	S	L	N
13.	The cost of living.	M	S	L	N
14.	Life after death.	M	S	L	N
15.	Automobile accidents caused by reckless driving.	M	S	L	N

TRAIT X (Family Background)

Be absolutely truthful in taking this test; try to be objective and honest with yourself. Answer Yes or No if possible; if you can’t decide Yes or No, then circle the question mark.

1.	Were your own parents quite happily married?	YES	?	NO
2.	Did you have a happy childhood?	YES	?	NO
3.	Did you have a great deal of love and affection for your mother?	YES	?	NO
4.	Did you have a great deal of love and affection for your father?	YES	?	NO
5.	Did you get along well with your mother without any serious conflict?	YES	?	NO
6.	Did you get along well with your father without any serious conflict?	YES	?	NO
7.	Was your home discipline firm but not harsh?	YES	?	NO
8.	Was the punishment that you received both mild and infrequent?	YES	?	NO
9.	Is your present attitude toward sex free from disgust or aversion?	YES	?	NO
10.	Was at least one of your parents easy to talk to, and frank, about matters of sex?	YES	?	NO
11.	Were you reared in either the country, a small town, or the suburbs of a city?	YES	?	NO
12.	Do you go to church three or four times (or more) every month?	YES	?	NO
13.	Are you regularly employed?	YES	?	NO
14.	Do you have many friends of your own sex?	YES	?	NO
15.	Do you belong to three or more social organizations?	YES	?	NO

Directions for Scoring Your Tests

Do not read these scoring directions until after you have taken the tests. When you have marked the tests according to the directions, then you are ready to score them. Because all the tests are not scored in the same way, be sure you score them very carefully. After having done so, then turn to the further directions, some of which apply to a man, some of which apply to a girl.

Test for Trait I. For each item that you have marked M, give yourself three points; for each one that you marked S, give yourself two points; for each item that you marked L, give yourself one point. Items marked N are counted zero. Then add these numbers up for your total score on Trait I. For example, if you marked four of the fifteen items M, that would give you twelve points; let us say you also marked five items S, that would be five times two points, or ten more points; if you marked three items L, that would be another three points. That would leave three items that you marked N for which you get no credit. Your total score on Trait I would then be 12 + 10 + 3 = 25 points.

Test for Trait II. For each A you marked, you get two points and for each R you get one point. Items that you answered D are counted zero. Add these up for your total score.

Test on Trait III. The scoring is reversed on this test from that used for Trait I. On Trait III, M is scored zero, each S gets credit of one point, each L gets credit of two points, and each N gets credit of three points.

Test on Trait IV. You marked the items on this test either, T, D, or F. Those you marked T are scored zero. For each D answer you get one point, and for each F answer you get two points.

Test on Trait V. Each marked M gets zero credit, each S gets one point, each L gets two points, and each N gets three points.

Test on Trait VI. Each M gets three points, each S gets two points, each L gets one point, and N receives no credit.

Test on Trait VII. This is the test in which four words come after each word in capitals. The first of the four words gets three points if circled, the second gets two points, the third word gets one point, and the last word receives no credit. Take the word PAST. If you marked it yesterday, or the word in the first column, you get three points; if forget is circled instead you would get two points. If you marked it hidden, you get no credit for that word. Add all your points for your total score.

Test on Trait VIII. The items in this test were marked S, P, or D. Items marked S get no credit. For each item marked P, give yourself one point credit; for each item marked D, give yourself two points credit.

Test on Trait IX. Each M gets three points; each S, two points; each L, one point, each N gets no credit.

Test on Trait X. In this test you were asked to mark your answers either Yes, ?, or No. For each Yes, give yourself ten points; for each question mark, credit yourself with five points. You receive no credit for any question that you answered No.

If you have followed carefully the directions that have been given you, you now have ten separate raw scores, one for each of the ten traits on which you were tested. We are now ready to see what these scores mean. Using the little outline below, put down your scores.

YOUR RAW SCORE

Trait	i	Trait	vi
Trait	ii	Trait	vii
Trait	iii	Trait	viii
Trait	iv	Trait	ix
Trait	v	Trait	x

NOW FIND YOUR ADJUSTED SCORE

If you are a man			If you are a woman
Trait	i	(Repeat raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	ii	(Repeat raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	iii	(Double raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	iv	(Double raw score)		(Multiply raw score by 4)
Trait	v	(Repeat raw score)		(Double raw score)
Trait	vi	(Repeat raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	vii	(Double raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	viii	(Repeat raw score)		(Repeat raw score)
Trait	ix	(Repeat raw score)		(Double raw score)
Trait	x	(Repeat raw score)		(Repeat raw score)

Total Score		(add the 10 scores)	Total Score

Thus, if you were a man you repeated all of your original “raw” scores except in traits III, IV, and VII where you doubled the raw score. For example if your raw score on III was twenty-eight your adjusted score should be fifty-six. Likewise if you were a girl you repeated your raw scores in all but IV, V, and IX. You quadrupled the score on IV and doubled each of the other two.

Interpretation of Your Final Adjusted Scores

Trait I. If your score was thirty or above you would seem to be a very sociable person, quite fond of the company of others, one who has very broad interests, and who will probably enjoy talking things over with your mate. A score of twenty-five is about average. If your score is twenty or less, you are probably cautious about making friends, have rather specialized interests, and are not very talkative unless the topic is quite interesting to you. It may be wise, if you have a low score, to try to develop more friends, have more of a social life, and to get out of your shell.

Trait II. If your score was fifteen or more you are probably a conforming person, agreeable and poised. You tend to be coöperative even though you are positive and firm when your mind is made up. A score of eleven is average. If your score was eight or less, you may be bullheaded, domineering, and argumentative. It may be wise, if you have a low score, to try to remember that the other person has a right to his own opinion and that you may lose friends and make enemies unless you act more diplomatically.

Trait III. If your score was fifty-six or more if a man, or twenty-eight or more if a girl, you are probably a tranquil person who is not easily irritated or annoyed. You rarely “fly off the handle” or become impatient; this is particularly important if you are a man. A score of forty-six for a man or twenty-three for a girl is typical or average. If your score is thirty-six or less if a man or eighteen or less if a girl, you are probably an irritable person who is easily annoyed. You may lose your temper too easily and stay peeved too long. You should make an effort to control your temper and to think before you speak, especially when you are annoyed or provoked.

Trait IV. If your score is fifty or more if you are a man, or one hundred or more if you are a girl, you would seem to be a frank, dependable person who makes few excuses and who tries to face reality and do a good job. A score of forty for a man and eighty for a girl are average. If you are a man and have a score of thirty or less or are a girl and have a score of sixty or less, you tend to blame your mistakes on others, may shirk your responsibilities, exaggerate and daydream too much. If your score was low, you should try to improve, especially if you are a girl for whom this trait is quite crucial in marriage happiness. Try to be more honest with yourself and others; be less unreasonable, and stop being suspicious and resentful of people who do not think and act as you do.

Trait V. If you are a man and have a score of forty or more, or are a girl and have a score of eighty or more, you would appear to be a stable person, confident, and responsible. You can work with others or can work by yourself without getting lonely and depressed. An average score is thirty for a man or sixty for a woman. If you are a man and have a score of fifteen or less, or are a girl with a score of thirty or less, you may be unstable, nervous, and fearful. You may feel inferior at times and get blue and discouraged. You need to raise your opinion of yourself. Acquire more social skills, train yourself to be very good or expert in something like a sport or a hobby.

Trait VI. If your score was thirty or above, you would seem to have extremely high ideals and standards, especially if you are a man. While this is generally desirable, don’t permit yourself to become too intolerant or prejudiced about others. A score of twenty-five is average. A score of twenty or less is low and may indicate that you are too broadminded, too flexible and expedient in your standards and ideals. Watch this because you are not the sort of person who should let himself go. Keep a firm grip on yourself, and remember it is easier never to begin a bad habit than it is to break one.

Trait VII. If your score is eighty or more if you are a man, forty or more if you are a girl, you are probably a very objective person who thinks like most other people think. You are probably quite steady, look at things dispassionately, and are neither repressed nor hypercritical. A score of seventy for a man, or of thirty-five for a girl is average. A score of sixty or less for a man or of thirty or less for a girl may indicate that you are temperamental and emotional. You may, at times, appear peculiar and odd to your friends. You may be repressed. Associate as much as possible with others. Don’t be the first to suggest something different or the last to give in.

Trait VIII. If your score is twenty-two or more, you would seem to be a person whose attitudes and interests are flexible and adaptable especially if you are in the twenties. If you are in the thirties or forties a high score is probably less desirable than an average score. A score of thirteen is average. If your score is eight or less, you would seem to be a very persistent person whose attitudes and interests are so fixed and rigid that you may find it difficult to adjust readily in marriage. Especially would that seem to be the case if you are in the twenties.

Trait IX. If you are a man and your final score is thirty or above; or if you are a girl whose adjusted (doubled) score is sixty or more, you would seem to be a thoughtful person who has done considerable thinking about marriage and its responsibilities. Particularly does this seem to be true of women. Attitudes toward marriage would appear to be wholesome and concerned about making the marriage a success. A score of twenty-four for a man or of forty-eight for a girl is average. A score of eighteen or less for a man or of thirty-six or less for a girl is low and suggests that you may be immature in your thinking and that you have not given much consideration or thought to the responsibilities of marriage.

Trait X. This test measured your family background to see if you had been reared in the kind of home in which parents and circumstances were favorable to developing traits and attitudes essential to happy marriage. If you scored 120 or more, and remember the higher the score the better, your family background was conducive to your happiness in marriage. A score of one hundred is average. If you scored eighty or less, it would seem that your family background was not one that tended to develop in you the traits and attitudes necessary for happiness in marriage.

Summary

You took a total of ten tests. If you followed the directions, you have scored them correctly. (If you were a man, you doubled your scores on Traits III, IV, and VII before you interpreted them. If you were a girl, you doubled your scores on Traits V and IX and quadrupled, or multiplied by four, the score you earned on Trait IV.) After having made these adjustments, you then read the interpretations and saw how you compared with other people of your own sex. Perhaps your prospective mate also took the tests and both of you now know how you stand as individuals.

We hope you and your mate made average to high scores on all of these tests. But now you want to know if you are the sort of person, and if your mate is the sort of person, who will be happy in marriage.

Go back to your final adjusted scores on the ten tests. Add all ten of these test scores together if you have not already done so to see what the total is.

If you are a man, and your total is 450 or above you would seem to be the sort of person who has an excellent chance of finding happiness in marriage. This is particularly likely to be the case if you also made high scores on Traits III, IV, VII, and X. If you made a score of about 350 you would seem to be a person who has about an average chance of achieving marriage happiness. If you made a score of 265 or less, you will need to use great care in selecting your mate and be willing to work very hard at making your marriage happy.

If you are a girl and if your score is five hundred or more, you are the kind of person who would seem to have an excellent chance of being happy in marriage. Especially is this likely to be the case if you made high scores on Traits IV, V, IX, and X. If you made a score of about four hundred, your chances would seem to be about average that you will find happiness in marriage. A score of three hundred or less is not too favorable to happiness in marriage.

In our next chapter you are going to be able to compare your testing partner with yourself and see if the two of you would be likely to be happy (if you married each other). So far we have just tried to find out if you, or if your mate, is likely to be happy in whatever marriage is entered upon. In this next chapter we want to find out if you two people are likely to be happy in your marriage to each other. You will have need for the final (adjusted) scores on each of the ten tests, as well as your final or total score you calculated by adding the ten separate scores. With these scores for both yourself and your mate, plus the answers to several other questions, you will be able to find out if the two of you are likely to be happy when you marry each other.