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Xibrari?
of tbe
xnnii^ereiti? of Misconein
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THE MENTAL TRAITS
OF SEX
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THE MENTAL TRAITS
OF SEX
AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE NORMAL MIND
IN MEN AND WOMEN
BY
HELEN BRADFORD THOMPSON, Ph.D.
•OMKTIMK rXLLOW IN THB OBPASTMBNT OF PHILOSOPHY, THB VNIVBRSITY OP CMCAGO
DIBICTOB OP THB PSYCHOLOGICAL LABORATOBY| MOUNT HOLYOKB C0LLB6B
'.â– L'
i>^ ,r-^ ;■- '\-'^ -• - '
CHICAGO
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
1903
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Copyright tgo3
BY THE UNIVBRSmr OF CHICAGO
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7510§
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
My sincerest thanks are due first to the fifty stu-
dents who made this research possible by devoting
to it so much time upon which other demands were
heavy, and to Professor James Rowland Angell, df the
University of Chicago, who suggested the problem,
furthered the work in the laboratory in every way,
and assisted throughout by his kindly criticism and
counsel. I wish also to make a grateful acknowledg-
ment to Dr. Edwin Campbell WooUey, of Ohio Wes-
leyan University, to whose careful revision of the man-
uscript and reading of the proof the book is chiefiy
indebted for whatever excellence of form it may pos-
sess ; to Miss Jeanette A. Marks, of Mount Holyoke
College, for reading and criticising the manuscript ; to
Miss Eleanor Lauder Jones, for her assistance in mak-
ing out the questions on personality and general infor-
mation; to Dr. Paul Gerhardt WooUey, of McGill
University, for suggesting and making the apparatus
used in the fifth test on ingenuity, and to Miss Alice
Rollins Little, of Mount Holyoke College, for her help
in enlarging the drawings.
H. B. T.
Chicago, July 12, 1902.
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CONTENTS.
PA6B
Chapter I — Introduction i
Object of this research. Preyious work in the same field.
Criterion for the selection of individuals to furnish a basis
for a comparison of the sexes. Individuals used for this
series of tests. Methods in comparative work. Number
of individuals experimented on and time required from
each one. Field covered by the experiments. Plan of
arrangement of the work. Method in making the experi-
ments. Method of formulating results.
Chapter II — Motor Ability 8
List of tests. Reaction times : apparatus, method, results,
types of reaction. Rapidity of finger movement and rate
of fatigue t apparatus, method, result. Formation of co-or-
dination — card-sorting: apparatus, method, result. Accu-
racy of a formed co-ordination — target test: apparatus,
method, result — precision of movement test: apparatus,
method, result. Motor automatisms : apparatus, method,
result. Summary of other experimental work on motor
ability. General summary.
Chapter III — Skin and Muscle Senses - - - 29
List of experiments. Threshold of impact: apparatus,
method, result. Threshold for pain on the right and left
temples: apparatus, method, result. Discriminative sensi-
bility for pressure on the palm of the hand: apparatus,
method, result. Discriminative sensibility for lifted weights :
apparatus, method, result Discrimination of two points on
the volar side of the forearm : apparatus, method, result.
Discriminative sensibility for temperature : apparatus, meth-
od, result. Summary of other experimental work on skin
and muscle senses. General summary.
. Chaper IV — Taste and Smell 50
List of tests. Apparatus for tests on taste. Thresholds of
presence and of recognition in taste : method, result Dis-
criminative sensibility for taste : method, result. Appa-
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vi CONTENTS
ratot for tests on smell. Modification of method in the '
case of smell. Threshold of presence for smell : method,
result. Threshold of recognition for smell: method, re-
sult. Discriminative sensibility in smell : method, result.
Summary of the tests on taste and smell. Summary of
other experimental work on taste and smell. General sum-
mary.
Chapter V — Hearing 69
List of tests. Upper limit of pitch : apparatus, method,
result. Lower limit of pitch : apparatus, method, result.
Discriminative sensibility for pitch: apparatus, method,
result Summary of other experimental work on hearing.
General summary.
Chapter VI — Vision 76
List of tests. Threshold for light: apparatus, method, re-
sult. Discriminative sensibility for brightness : apparatus,
method, result. Keenness of vision: apparatus, method,
result. Discrimination of color and color-blindness : appa-
ratus, method, result Discrimination of visual areas : appa*
ratus, method, result. Summary of other experimental work
on vision. General summary.
Chapter VII — Intellectual Faculties - - - 93
List of tests. Memory : material, method, results ; rate of
memorizing, retentiveness, type of imagery used, methods of
memorizing. Summary of tests on memory. Association :
nature of test ; method ; counting of the total number of asso-
ciations, result ; counting of the number of topics touched
upon, results ; discussion of the two sets of results. Inge-
nuity tests : nature of the ingenuity tests ; source of error ;
Test I : apparatus, method, result ; Test II : apparatus,
method, result ; Test III : apparatus, method, result ; Test
IV : apparatus, method, result ; Test V : apparatus, method,
result Summary of ingenuity tests. General informa-
tion : questions ; treatment of answers ; source of error ;
results ; total examination, English, history, physics, math-
ematics, biology, question 25, literary subjects, scientific
subjects. Summary of tests on general information. Sum-
mary of other experimental work on intellectual faculties.
General summary.
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CONTENTS vfi
Chapter VIII —Affective Processes - - -136
List of tests. Effect of affective processes on respiration
and circulation : apparatus, method, result Questions on
personality : purpose and value of the questions ; field cov-
ered by the questions; questions on age, health, and nation-
ality, answers ; questions on sensory experiences, answers ;
questions on methods of rest and recreation, answers;
questions on the individual aspects of personality, answers ;
questions on the social aspects of personality, answers;
questions on intellectual interests: methods iof work and
belief, answers. Summary of other experimental work on
affective processes. General summary.
Chapter IX — Conclusion- 169
Summary of previous chapters. The biological theory of
the psychological differences of sex. Comparison of our
findings with this theory. Criticism of the biological the-
ory of the psychological differences of sex. Explanation
of the psychological diffensncesr of sex by differences of .
training.
Bibliography 183
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CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Thb object of the present monograph is to fur-
nish some accurate information on the much-discussed
question of the psychology of the sexes. The main
part of it consists in the report of a series of experi*
ments carried on in the psychological laboratory of the
University of Chicago during the years 1898-99 and ^
1 899- 1 900. To have an adequate setting, such a
study should be prefaced by a review of the historical
aspects of the problem, a critical summary of the
large mass of argumentative literature on the subject,
and a discussion of the facts of anatomy and physi-
ology which are supposed to have a bearing on the
psychology of sex. The mass of material to be dealt
with is far too great, however, to be satisfactorily
treated within the necessary limits of *the present
work. It has therefore been necessary to restrict this
monograph to a report of the experimental work which
forms the real contribution to the field, a review of
previous experimental work bearing on the subject,
and a brief discussion of the results.
The present research is the first attempt to obtain
a complete and systematic statement of the psycho-
logical likenesses and di£Eerences of the sexes by the
experimental method. Needless to say, the goal has
not been reached within the limits of such an investi-
gation. All that has been done is to gather together
some evidence bearing on the problem, which is trust-
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2 THE MENTAL TRAITS OF SEX
worthy so far as it goes. Previous experimental work
has been in the form of detached experiments on some
single sense or intellectual process. Usually the ex-
periments have not been made for the purpose of a
comparison of the sexes, but have been performed with
some other interest in view, and have been incidentally
formulated with reference to sex. Much of the mate-
rial is the experimental work on school children done
under the influence of the child-study movement
The only previous attempt to sum up the experimental
evidence on the subject is that by Havelock Ellis (23),'
in his book Man and IVoman, published in 1894. The
work contains no original investigation.
In making a series of tests for comparative pur-
poses, the first prerequisite is to obtain material that
is really comparable. It has been shown that the
simple sensory processes vary with age and with social
condition (11, do, 51, 54, 63, 64, 65, 67). No one
would question that this statement is true for the intel-
lectual processes also^n order to make a trustworthy
investigation of the variations due to sex alone, there-
fore, it is essential to secure as material for experi-
mentation, individuals of both sexes who are near the
same age, who have the same social status, and who
have been subjected to like training and social sur-
roundings. The complete fulfilment of these con-
ditions, even in the most democratic community, is
impossible^ The social atmosphere of the sexes is
difiEerent from the earliest childhood to maturity.
Probably the nearest approach among adults to the
ideal requirement is a£Eorded by the undergraduate stu-
'The numbers which appear in parentheses throughout the text
refer to the bibliography at the end of the Tolnme.
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INTRODUCTION 3
dents of a coeducational university. For most of them
the obtaining of an education has been the one serious
business of life. They have had at least the similarity
of training and surroundings incident to school life.
Most of those in a western university have received
their preparatory education in coeducational schools.
. - ^ The individuals who furnished the basis for the
present study were students of the University of Chi-
cago. They were all juniors, seniors, or students in
the first year of their graduate work. The original
intention was to limit the ages to the period from
twenty to twenty-five years. Owing to the difficulty
of obtaining a sufficient number of subjects within
these limits, a few individuals of nineteen years, and
a few over twenty-five were admitted (see Fig. 81).
The subjects were obtained by requesting members of
the classes in introductory psychology and ethics to
serve. They were told nothing about the object of
the tests except that they were for the purpose of
determining psychological norms. The series of ques-
tions on age, health, and nationality, reported in chap,
viii, shows that in all these respects the men and
women tested were closely comparable. ^
Two methods may be followed in planning a series
of tests designed to yield material for the comparison
of groups or classes. It is possible either to make
rapid and more or less superficial measurements on a
large number of individuals, depending on numbers to
counterbalance the errors of single tests, or to make
careful and accurate observations of a smaller number
of persons. The ideal procedure W9uld unquestion-
ably be to make careful measurements of a large
number of individuals, but since the amount of time
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4 THE MENTAL TRAITS OF SEX
available for any problem is limited, the practical
question to be decided is — Given a limited amount of
time, which of the two modes of procedure mentioned
is more likely to yield valuable results? Accuracy of
measurement seemed an indispensable requirement for
such a study as the present one. Any reliable determi-
nation of a threshold or a discriminative sensibility
requires a somewhat extended series of experiments.
With subjects untrained in psychological experiments
— as most of these were — it is essential to take a large
enough series of measurements to give some assurance
that the results represent a characteristic reaction, and
not haphazard answers. In so simple a test as that
of dermal two-point discriminations the first few judg-
ments are very likely to be little more than guesses.
In a series of rapid tests like those employed at
Columbia University (82) the subject is given only five
stimulations with the aesthesiometer. The points are
kept a fixed distance apart and the subject is given
both one- and two-point stimulations in his series of
five. It seems improbable that the results of such a
test on unpracticed subjects mean an3rthing more than
random answers.^^The Columbia experiments on a
large number of students failed to reveal any differ-
ence of sex in the fineness of two-point discriminations,
while the present accurate measurement of fifty
subjects shows a clear difference. - ^
The series of tests employed in this investigation
required from fifteen to twenty hours of time from
each subject. The hours were arranged from one
sitting to the next according to the convenience of
the subject. It was not possible to have the hours
for any one test constant for all subjects, since the
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INTRODUCTION 5
schedules varied so widely. No attempt was made to
keep the order of experiments rigidly the same for all.
Convenience and economy of time necessarily deter-
mined theorder to a great extent. In general, however,
the simple sensory and motor tests were given in the
early part of the series, and the intellectual tests in
the latter part. The questions on personality usually
came last. The taste and smell experiments had to be
scattered through most of the periods, since only a
few at a time could be performed without fatigue.
r-'TThe entire series was applied to fifty subjects, twenty-
five men and twenty-five women.^
-"^^The experiments fell into seven groups, dealing-^
respectively with motor abili tj. s kin and muscl e
sense s, ta ste and sjn ell. h earing , vision, inte llectual 7
faculjies, and aff ective processes.^ One chapter of
this monograph is devoted to each group. A list of
the experiments under each group will be found at the
beginning of each chapter. At the end of each chap-
ter there is a comparison of results with those of other
investigators, and a general summary. The numbers
in parentheses used in the summaries of other experi-
mental work and throughout the text, refer to the
bibliography at the end of the volume. The bibli-
ography pretends to completeness only in its enumer-
ation of the experimental researches bearing on the
problem, and even here there are doubtless omissions,
although it is hoped that all the important papers
are mentioned. Whenever for the sake of brevity a
dogmatic statement is made to the effect that there
are no data on a certain point, or only such data as
are quoted, the qualification, so far as the author knows^
is to be understood.
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6 THE MENTAL TRAITS OF SEX
The report of each experiment includes a descrip-
tion of the apparatus used, a statement of the method,
and a formulation of the results. Since the value of
experimental work, and the possibility of comparing
one set of results with another depend so largely upon
the method, the greatest pains has been taken to se-
cure uniformity, and to describe the method in full
in each case. The experiments were all performed
by the author, with the exception of a part of the
reaction-time tests, which had to be repeated because
of a source of error in the apparatus. For these the
author is indebted to Dr. W. C. Gore and Mr. H. J.
Pearce, of the Graduate School of the University of
Chicago.
A few words in general on the methods employed
may not be out of place, in spite of the fact that each
is described in full in connection with the test. The
guiding principle in selecting the method was the
desire to make the directions to the subject as clear
and simple as possible and at the same time secure the
greatest possible accuracy of result. In all the tests
on discriminative sensibility this double end seemed
best secured by requiring a simple judgment of com-
parison (i. ^., lighter or heavier, more or less cold, etc.)
between two stimuli. The subject was told nothing
of a standard stimulus, and the order of the standard
and stimulus of comparison was varied. The differ-
ence in intensity between the standard and the stimu-
lus of comparison was varied until the point was found
at which three-fourths of the judgments were correct.
In the threshold tests of taste and smell, tasteless and
odorless preparations were used to control the thresh-
old illusions. The greatest care was taken to avoid
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INTRODUCTION 7
suggestion of all sorts in all the tests. The descrip-
tions of method have been made explicit at the risk
of their being perhaps somewhat tedious and need-
lessly detailed.
The results of the experiments have been presented
graphically wherever possible. In all the curves, the
dotted line is for women and the unbroken line for
men. The ordinates always represent the number of
subjects. In no case have the results been averaged.
Wherever graphic representation was impracticable,
they have been grouped, /^he purpose of the research
was norms, not averages^
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CHAPTER II.
MOTOR ABILITY.
The subjects of the tests on motor ability were as
follows :
A. Reaction times.
1. Auditory.
2. Visual.
B. Rapidity of finger movement and rate of fatigue.
C. Co-ordination.
1 . Formation of a co-ordination. Card-sorting.
2. Accuracy of a formed co-ordination.
(a) Striking a target.
(6) Precision of movement in drawing lines.
D. Motor automatisms.
A. REACTION TIMES.
Two sets of simple reaction times, the first auditory
and the second visual, were taken from each subject.
The Hipp chronoscope was used for both. The audi-
tory stimulus was a click in a telephone receiver, made
by breaking the circuit. A flash of pale purple light
in a Geissler tube served as the visual stimulus.
Between forty and fifty reactions of each kind were
made by each subject. While reacting, the subject
sat alone in the reaction room, placed in as comforta-
ble a position as possible. His right forearm was sup-
ported on the table, and the forefinger of his right
hand rested lightly on the button of a break key which
was in the chronoscope circuit. The telephoi^e for
the auditory stimulus was adjusted to the ear of the
8
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MOTOR ABILITY
subject. The Geissler tube for the visual stimulus was
placed on the table in front of the subject. It was sus-
pended before a black background, against which the
flash of pale purple light was thrown out sharply. A
warning signal consisting of two clicks of a telegraph
instrument was given about two seconds before the
stimulus. The time was varied slightly to counteract
the widespread tendency to premature reactions. The
signal for the release of the key after the reaction
consisted of one click of the telegraph instrument.
The reactions were taken in series of ten to twelve,
with four- or five-minute periods of rest between. The
subject was given no instructions about the direction
in which his attention should be concentrated. He
was merely told to make the reaction as nearly instan-
taneous as possible. After the .experiment he was
asked in what direction his attention had been con-
centrated while reacting.
The results are recorded in terms of the mean re-
action time and mean variation (74). Series of the
first forty-one unquestioned reactions of each kind
served as the basis of the calculation. Both the mean
reaction time and the mean variation appear in the
results in terms of sigma (.001 seconds). The num-
ber of subjects represented by each ordinate in the
TABLE I.
Mean variations of reaction times.
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lO
THE MENTAL TRAITS OF SEX
Fig. I.
Reaction times. Auditory.'
Abscissas — sigma.
OrdiniEtes — number o( persons.
women ; men.
curve is the number whose reaction times fell be-
tween the point on the curve at which the ordinate is
erected and the next previous one. Thus the num-
ber of subjects represented at 1500- is the number
whose reaction times fell between 1400- and 150^.
The curves repre-
sented in Figs. I and
2 show that the men
have, on the whole,
shorter reaction times
** than the women. In
both auditory and
visual reactions there
are several men with