[extropy-chat] The Gender Genie - analyzing writing styles

[David Lubkin]

Natasha wrote:

>Amara, bella, perhaps the test is outdated.
>
>We cannot expect either gender to write in tithe style prescribed to it by
>any one generational testing regulation.  Also, I don't think it is
>necessarily pejorative that a test senses a "male" writing style. Androgyny
>is beautiful and an ability to write both across both gender-styles is a
>lovely thing to do. This is expressly, I put on a tie many times when I
>give a talk.  There is a time and place for all aspect of our "selves" and
>you seem to have chosen an educated style in your articles.  However, I
>wonder what the article you wrote on Fiorella Terenzi comes out as.  Did
>you run that one through the test?

When my ex and I were divorcing and went through a child custody 
evaluation, I took the MMPI.  The clinical psychologist pasted boilerplate 
text in his report:

>This profile occasionally reflects an individual who is conflicted over 
>their sexual identity.  They do not identify with the cultural stereotype 
>of the masculine role.  These men have a wide range of interests, and are 
>apt to be idealistic.

At trial, opposing counsel pounced on this, trying to impute that I am 
homosexual and (in the eyes of a conservative judge) perforce an unsuitable 
parent.  The psychologist testified that it's extremely common to find an 
elevated Scale 5 in highly educated men, and that he himself did.

 From _Psychological Experts in Divorce Actions_:

>... originally intended to be a measure of homosexuality.  However they 
>quickly realized that the homosexual population was too heterogeneous to 
>be measured by one scale.  It is also the only scale that has different 
>norms for males and females.
>
>Scale 5 is highly related to education.
>
>Men with low scores ... are individuals who tend to have "macho" 
>self-images and present themselves as being extremely masculine, 
>overemphasizing their masculinity in a somewhat unsophisticated 
>way.  Women with similar scores identify with the stereotypical feminine 
>roles but may doubt their own femininity.
>
>Men with elevated 5's -- have conflicted thoughts about their sexual 
>identity; are insecure in a masculine role; are effeminate and have 
>aesthetic and artistic interests; are intelligently capable; are 
>ambitious, competitive, and persevering; show good judgment and common 
>sense; are curious; are creative as well as imaginative, and 
>individualistic; are social and sensitive to others; are tolerant; are 
>capable of expressing warm feelings to others; are passive and dependent 
>as well as submissive; have good self-control and rarely act out; are 
>inner-directed.
>
>Women with elevated 5's -- tend to be uninterested in being seen as 
>feminine; not interested in appearing or behaving as other women do; 
>reject the traditional female role; have stereotypic masculine interests; 
>are active, vigorous, and assertive; are competitive, aggressive, and 
>dominating; are outgoing, uninhibited, and self-confident; are 
>unemotional; are unfriendly.

I'd guess that virtually everyone on this list has an elevated 5.

I further suspect that the accuracy of Koppel's and Argamon's test is 
inversely correlated with the subject's MMPI Scale 5.


-- David Lubkin.