One sheet, two numbers
The X-O read nothing into which words a pupil disliked. It counted marks, and compared them with what "normal" pupils had chosen [1].
Mark the sheet, then hand it in
Tap a word once to cross it out. Tap again to circle it as the worst in its line; each line takes one circle. A third tap clears it. When you hand the sheet in, it's scored the 1921 way.
1930: the X-O goes to the reformatory
M. H. Erickson and M. J. Pescor gave Form B to male and female groups, some judged normal and some delinquent. They scored the crossings-out for affectivity and studied the circled words for idiosyncrasy, and for key words that might reveal particular complexes and worries [4].
Results as summarised in the Journal of Mental Science, 1931. Group sizes and figures aren't given in that abstract.
Two authors, one surname
The 1919 article is signed by S. L. Pressey and L. W. Pressey [1]. She is better known as Luella Cole, and the two careers ran side by side [1][5].
The test's paper trail
A later history judged the X-O low in both reliability and validity, with poor guidance on interpreting scores [7]. Researchers kept using it all the same. Each card is a dated record we could trace.
References
- [1]Psychological Test, Pressey X-O Test (Form B). C. H. Stoelting Company, 1921. National Museum of American History, Gift of Samuel Kavruck.si.edu
- [2]Pressey, S. L. & Pressey, L. W. (1919). "Cross-out" tests with suggestions as to a group scale of the emotions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 3(2), 138–150. (Search link; we have not read the full text.)scholar.google.com
- [3]Character Tests and their Applications Through 1930 (bibliography). Review of Educational Research, 2(3), 1932. Lists Pressey (1921) and Flügel & Radclyffe (1928).journals.sagepub.com
- [4]Erickson, M. H. & Pescor, M. J. The application of the Pressey X-O Tests to delinquents (Medico-Legal Journal, 1930). Abstract in the Journal of Mental Science, 1931.cambridge.org
- [5]Petrina, S. (2004). Luella Cole, Sidney Pressey, and educational psychoanalysis, 1921–1931. History of Education Quarterly, 44(4), 524–553.cambridge.org
- [6]Petrina, S. (2001). "The never-to-be-forgotten investigation": Luella W. Cole, Sidney L. Pressey, and mental surveying in Indiana, 1917–1921. History of Psychology, 4, 245–271. Academia.edu copy.academia.edu
- [7]Pressey X-O test. Wikipedia, citing Reisman, J., A History of Clinical Psychology, pp. 136–137.en.wikipedia.org
- [8]Sidney L. Pressey. Wikipedia, citing Pressey (1926), "A simple apparatus which gives tests and scores – and teaches", School and Society 23, and Hobbs (1980), American Psychologist obituary.en.wikipedia.org
Related historical tests
Bourdon also had people cross out items on a printed sheet, but as a test of attention and speed. The X-O used the same motion to ask what a person found wrong.
Rorschach's Psychodiagnostik appeared in 1921, the year Stoelting copyrighted Form B. Both were catalogued among early character tests, one projective and one marked on a printed sheet.
Strong also scored a person's likes and dislikes by how particular groups answered. His groups were occupations rather than "normal" pupils.
Murray and Morgan looked for complexes in the stories people told about pictures. Erickson and Pescor had hunted for them in circled key words.
The MMPI compared true/false answers with those of diagnosed patient groups. Like the idiosyncrasy score, it valued how often an answer matched a group, not what the answer meant.
The Presseys built their Indiana survey tests in the years when Alpha showed that one examiner could test hundreds at once. The X-O applied that group format to emotion.