Several contemporary disadvantages of the original E-scales are pointed out, and an up-to-date scale is presented. This is standardized on a broadly representative sample and has been constructed by orthodox statistical procedures. The final scale comprises twenty-four items, half of which are positively-and half of which are negatively-worded. Evidence is presented that the scale is a reliable one, and a factor analysis of responses from the standardization group is presented and interpreted. Validation data are reported and it is shown that scale scores are significantly related to age, socio-economic status, political affiliation, and F-scale responses.

SummaryThe object of the study was to investigate the genetic nature of personal preferences in such spheres as food, friendship, art, music, ambition, marriage and so on. The subjects chosen for the research were forty-eight pairs of identical and forty-eight pairs of non-identical twins, divided equally into males and females, with ages ranging between 17 and 40 years. Each subject, individually, was given an oral questionnaire (‘Fads and Fancies’), the answers to which were analysed statistically. The results indicate very little difference between the concordance rates of identical and non-identical twins, suggesting that the issues discussed might not be genetically influenced. One possible reason for such findings could be the unrepresentative nature of the sample.

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The object of the study was to make an objective assessment of the validity of ascertaining personality from handwriting. The subjects chosen for the research were twenty-four pairs of identical and twenty-four pairs of non-identical twins. Personality scores were obtained from each subject, and each pair of twins was rated by their parent(s) on a questionnaire comparing their personality and development. These ratings were compared with ratings of within-pair personality differences based on the examination of samples of handwriting by a consultant graphologist and by a team of eight amateurs. The results showed that handwriting is not likely to be helpful in the study of neuroticism and is of no value in the determination of zygosity. In the case of extraversion, however, the correlations were low but in the expected direction and with reasonably good internal consistency.

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