The Marital Rating Scale: And You Thought 'Mad Men' Was Sexist...

The Huffington Post UK  |  By Andrea Mann  |  Posted: 15/03/2012 11:15 Updated: 17/03/2012 09:41

Husbands! Wives! Ever wondered whether you're really doing a good job? At being a husband or wife, that is? Well, wonder no more - because at last, there's a definitive test on a subject.

Or rather: in the 1930s, someone devised a definitive test on the subject. Because that's when the 'Marital Rating Scales' below were created - by George W. Crane, MD, PhD, of Northwestern University, Illinois. As the American Psychological Association says in its article on the history of Crane's test, it was designed to give couples feedback on their marriages - and was a precursor to the sort of 'scientific' approach to matchmaking now used by dating services like eHarmony. Although, thankfully, eHarmony doesn't brand you as either "very superior" or a "failure". (We think. Guardian Soulmates might, though.)

So how does it work? Well, ladies, you need to fill it in about your husband - adding five points if he remembers your birthday and deducting five points if he compares you unfavourably to his mother. And gents, you need to fill it in about your good lady wife - adding one point if she can carry on an interesting conversation and deducting one point if she wears red nail polish. Yes, if you thought the sexism displayed in Mad Men was horrific, it ain't got nothing on the 'Marital Rating Scales'.

But enough of this wifey-style chit-chat! Do the test. And leave a comment below to tell us how your partner scored. And if you're feeling brave? Tell us how your partner scored you.


THE WIFE'S CHART:





THE HUSBAND'S CHART:


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Husbands! Wives! Ever wondered whether you're really doing a good job? At being a husband or wife, that is? Well, wonder no more - because at last, there's a definitive test on a subject. Or rathe...
Husbands! Wives! Ever wondered whether you're really doing a good job? At being a husband or wife, that is? Well, wonder no more - because at last, there's a definitive test on a subject. Or rathe...
 
 
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Reality always bites
Sometimes just a bit peckish
10:15 PM on 03/17/2012
George W. Crane, MD, PhD, clearly did not have computing or mathematics as one of his strong points.
Either that or I am a rubbish (fail) husband!
07:58 PM on 03/17/2012
Minus eleven... hahaha! Clearly I woudl give nay 1930's man a good shock!
11:09 AM on 03/17/2012
My ex scores minus 7 on this, I manage plus 8 - both fails!

Good job we're apart then!
08:48 AM on 03/16/2012
Americanised rubbish !
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An Independent Woman
Honni soit que mal y pense
06:17 AM on 03/18/2012
Oh yes, you can rest assured that anything American is rubbish (that's garbage in American, which is itself a bastardization of the Queen's English). Sheesh....
07:32 AM on 03/16/2012
I just counted the highest possible scores for husbands and wives and guess what? Husbands can get a max. merit score of 146 (if they take their wife out on date 4 times a week), while wives can only reach 120 (if they have 4 children to take care of). It´s of course the opposite with demerit scores: Husbands can fail with 90, while wives can reach a fail of 102. Subtract the numbers and we have a balance of 18:56. So, according to the score system alone, husbands are generally 3 times more superior to wives. Good work Dr. W. Crane, Ph.D., M.D.!
10:34 PM on 03/16/2012
You have wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to much time on your hands if you worked that out lol
Take 5 demerits
09:14 PM on 03/17/2012
Ok, I take them. I´m still "Very Superior" according to my wife´s checks...
06:15 AM on 03/17/2012
That is hilarious! Great catch.
04:47 AM on 03/16/2012
This is great! But I couldn't subtract snoring as one of the wife's demerits!
10:33 PM on 03/15/2012
This is ground breaking and marriage guidance should take heed as should divorce courts... This clearly and without doubt, shows that most divorces are fairly and squarely the fault of a wife... if only this had been made available sooner...
Its in black and white so cannot be argued against..
09:58 PM on 03/15/2012
Red nail varnish???????!!!!!

SLATTERN!
04:48 PM on 03/15/2012
Funnt that it is possible for the men to score more highly than the women simply by having bigger scores available. Conversely, women can potentially score more demerits than the men. Not exactly a level starting point!!
04:46 PM on 03/15/2012
Nice bit of social history. If my wife did some of the 'merits' we'd have a very serious falling out. But that was then, I'd love to do a 'now'; probably one of the demerits would be judging your partner against a stupid list.
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ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
04:03 PM on 03/15/2012
The poor man cannot snore. We would all be so doomed!
03:01 PM on 03/15/2012
I am at a loss! None of these applies to my man. I think a new model is called for :)
12:39 PM on 03/15/2012
My partner scored so badly that it was impossible to subtract the demerits from the merits, as the demerits was the bigger sum!!!
09:17 PM on 03/17/2012
well you know what they say..............opposites do most certainly attract....ha
we were both 20 and 20~ positives...........yet still failures !.....guess I'd better get my cold feet off him in bed and straighten my hose then !