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PROVERBS1 This is a test of the ability to form verbal abstractions, and of the relative ease or difficulty of learning to do so. The task used for examining this ability is interpreting the generalized meaning of proverbs. For this purpose, proverbs are generally defined as wise or meaningful sayings cast in a metaphorical mode. For example, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink” expresses the impossibility of compelling anyone to do your will, but does so by relating that generalization to what used to be a very familiar circumstance in everyday life. Similarly, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” warns against anticipating benefits that have not yet come about, and does so by referring to another everyday (at one time) example in which people understood that fertilized eggs do not all become chicks. It is this ability to understand the metaphor and then to generalize the intended meaning that constitutes the challenge in this test. As a dynamic assessment instrument, Proverbs goes well beyond merely testing an ability. It has two aspects that make it interactive or dynamic. The first is “information enrichment.” In this aspect, each proverb is stated in three different ways. The metaphor differs, but the generalized meaning is the same. By comparing interpretation scores when given a single statement of each proverb to interpretation scores when given three statements of each proverb, examiners can assess the extent to which initial poor performance reflects difficulty making generalized meaning out of minimal (single statement) information, and the extent to which such difficulty can be overcome by enriching the information input, i.e., by giving more statements of the same meaning. The second aspect that makes the test dynamic is a teaching and learning intervention that can be interposed between a static pretest and a static posttest. That intervention, a mediational one, is focused on the metacognitive activities that are essential for verbal abstracting, such as gathering clear and complete information, searching for generalizations (and breaking free of concrete, content-bound interpretations), hypothetical thinking and hypothesis testing, and both perceptual and conceptual flexibility. There are two forms of the test, A and B. Each form is given under two conditions: regular (single proverb statements) and enriched (sets of three proverb statements that all have the same generalized meaning). In this way, it is identical to the Test of Verbal Abstracting (TVA) except that it uses proverbs interpretation rather than identification of abstract similarities as the mechanism for examining abstracting ability. The forms are typically administered in the following sequence: Form A, single proverbs (A-1) Form A, proverb sets (A-3) 1
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Mediational intervention Form B, single proverbs (B-1) Form B, proverb sets (B-3) Testing the Limits, using zero-credit items from previous forms Examinees are asked to state the meaning of each proverb: “What does this saying mean: ‘Look before you leap’?” Responses are recorded verbatim and scored according to level of abstract generality (see scoring criteria). Maximum credit is given for interpretations that are both accurate and highly generalizable, zero credit for those that are simply inaccurate, and reduced credit for correct but concrete responses. In the example given here, an examinee who says “Well, if you don’t look you might leap into a hole or a bad place” would earn minimal credit, whereas one who responded “Think about where you want to go, what you want to accomplish, before you start acting” would get maximal credit. The test can be used either individually or in groups. Group administration requires the ability to write one’s interpretations fairly rapidly (slow writing may be associated with forgetting the statement of the proverb). The interposed mediation, between forms A and B, can be standardized. It will be less effective than will individualized mediation, but that is sometimes an acceptable price for gathering large data sets. Some general instructions. It is essential that examinees understand the nature of the task and its requirements. It is often useful to give an example that can be discussed. Do not teach generalization of meaning during the introduction of the test; merely make certain that examinees understand that they are to tell you what the proverb means in some form other than the one in which it is stated, i.e., they are not simply to repeat the proverb statement. It is useful to interpose a different activity between the two A forms, A-1 and A-3, and between the two B forms, B-1 and B-3. This is done as an attempt to minimize the memory factor, so that examinees will not necessarily give the same response to the three-proverb set as they previously gave to the single proverb statement. Given that a dynamic assessment usually consists of more than one kind of task, that can be done easily without sacrificing any examining time. Examinees who are anxious or unsure of their responses often seek confirmation from the examiner, looking at the examiner questioningly and/or asking “Is that right?” A good response would be, “You are doing a good job. Just keep on following the rule, and tell me what each one means.” Alternatively, one could answer, “I want to know what you think.” On the following pages are Form A-3 and Form B-3. Within each proverb set, the statement with an asterisk (*) is the one that is to be used in the single-proverb forms, A-1 and B-1.
PROVERBS, Form A 1.
*No use crying over spilled milk. You can’t un-ring the bell. No use locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen.
2.
Beauty is only skin-deep. *Don’t judge a book by its cover. All that glitters is not gold.
3.
*Actions speak louder than words. Deeds are fruits; words are but leaves. The tree is known by its fruit.
4.
*Let sleeping dogs lie. Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you. Don’t rock the boat.
5.
*Make hay while the sun shines. Strike while the iron is hot. Hoist your sail when the wind is fair.
6.
Tomorrow never comes. *Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. One of these days is none of these days.
7.
*Rome wasn’t built in a day. The longest journey begins with a single step. Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land.
8.
*A penny saved is a penny earned. Waste not, want not. Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
9
*You can’t have your cake and eat it too. A door must be either shut or open. If you spend it today, you won’t have it tomorrow.
10.
Divide and conquer. A house divided against itself cannot stand. *United we stand, divided we fall.
11.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. *You never miss the water till the well runs dry. The cow knows not the value of her tail ‘til she has lost it.
12.
If a pig had wings, it might fly. *If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. If frogs had wings, they wouldn’t bump their tails on rocks.
13.
*A golden key can open any door. He that has a full purse never wants for a friend. A rich man’s joke is always funny.
14.
*The leopard does not change its spots. Once a thief, always a thief. Drive nature out of the door and it will enter by the window.
15.
Ignorance is bliss. *No news is good news. What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.
16.
*He that would have eggs must endure the cackling of hens. The cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet. He that would eat the fruit must climb the tree.
17.
*Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Faint heart never won fair lady. No pain, no gain.
18.
An ape’s an ape, a varlet’s a varlet, though they be clad in silk or scarlet. A leopard does not change its spots *You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
19.
Don’t cross the bridge before you come to it. *Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Don’t put the cart before the horse.
20.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Your eyes should not be bigger than your stomach. *Don’t have too many irons in the fire.
PROVERBS, Form B 1.
It’s always darkest before the dawn. *April showers bring May flowers. Every cloud has a silver lining.
2.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. *A stitch in time saves nine. For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.
3.
All things come to those who wait. *Time heals all wounds Time works wonders.
4.
Garbage in, garbage out. *As you sow, so shall you reap. As you make your bed, so must you lie in it.
5.
Procrastination is the thief of time. *He who hesitates is lost. Seize the day!
6.
Beggars can’t be choosers. *Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Half a loaf is better than none.
7.
They that dance must pay the fiddler. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. *After the feast comes the bill.
8
*It’s a poor workman who blames his tools. A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor. No excuse is a good excuse.
9.
Look before you leap. Action without thought is like shooting without aim. *Measure twice, cut once.
10.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Catch your rabbit before you boil the pot. *There’s many a slip twixt cup and lip.
11.
One man’s meat is another man’s poison. *Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Different strokes for different folks.
12.
The devil finds work for idle hands to do. *An idle brain is the devil’s workshop. Idleness is the root of all evil.
13.
In for a penny, in for a pound. *One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. If you’ve been hanged once, you can’t be hanged again.
14.
*Always in a hurry, always behind. Make haste slowly. Slow and steady wins the race.
15.
*Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. The highest branch is not the safest roost. The post of honor is the post of danger.
16.
*Every rose has its thorns. Every path has a few puddles. You have to take the bitter with the sweet.
17.
*The pot calls the kettle black. It takes one to know one. The best place for criticism is in front of your mirror.
18.
*Still waters run deep. Empty barrels make the most sound Babbling brooks are noisy.
19.
Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die. *Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Seize the day.
20.
Little strokes fell great oaks. Small leaks sink big ships. *The longest journey begins with a single step.
PROVERBS, Scoring Criteria Scoring rules. Examine each interpretation for accuracy and for level of abstraction/degree of generalization. Give zero credit for manifestly incorrect or irrelevant responses, i.e., those that are not even correct in concrete form. Give 1 or 2 points for correct but concrete responses: 1 for quite concrete (same content as the metaphorical statement), 2 for concrete interpretation but with a different—but still specific—content. Give 3 or 4 points for abstract responses, with the greater credit being given for the most abstract interpretations that have the greatest degree of generalization. The following are examples of responses that would earn 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 points. Threeproverb sets are scored in the same way, and using the same criteria, as single proverbs. No use crying over spilled milk. 0 points: Crying doesn’t help anything. 1 point: The milk is spilled, you can’t put it back in the pitcher. 2 points: Like, paint that you get on the floor has already made a mess; it’s too late. 3 points: If something is already done, it doesn’t help to cry about it. 4 points: The time to worry is before the damage is done, not after. Rome wasn’t built in a day. 0 points: Rome was built mostly by slaves. 1 point: A city takes a long time to build. 2 points: Building anything, whether it’s one house or a whole country, takes a long time. 3 points: If something doesn’t happen right away, that doesn’t mean it never will. 4 points: You have to be patient and give things time to happen. It’s a poor workman who blames his tools. 0 points: Bad hammer! It hit me on the thumb! 1 point: It’s not just bad tools that make a bad job. 2 points: People who turn out poor work have to find excuses for it. 3 points: You have to look for the real causes of problems. 4 points: First look at yourself to find out where problems came from, instead of blaming others. One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. 0 points: Stealing sheep will get you hanged. 1 point: If you are going to steal, you might as well steal a big sheep. 2 points: Committing a little crime makes you just as guilty as committing a big one. 3 points: There’s no use doing just a little bit of something. 4 points: If you’re going to do it, you might as well go all the way, because you have already done it when you have done only a little bit.
Make hay while the sun shines. 0 points: Sunshine makes the hay grow. 1 point: Rainy days are not good times to bring in the hay. 2 points: Farmers have to take advantage of sunny days and do things when they can. 3 points: You have to look for good opportunities to do things. 4 points: Grasp opportunities when conditions are favorable, or else you’ll miss your chance.
PROVERBS Procedure for Interposed Mediation After Forms A-1 and A-3 have been administered, go immediately into a mediational phase of the test. Look back over the two A forms and pick out all items on which the examinee has failed to earn 3 or 4 points. Those items constitute the material for mediation (learning). As previously observed, there are some metacognitive activities that are essential for verbal abstracting, such as gathering clear and complete information, searching for generalizations (and breaking free of concrete, content-bound interpretations), hypothetical thinking and hypothesis testing, and both perceptual and conceptual flexibility. Those activities provide the focus of mediation; however, it is a good idea to “clear the decks” first, by searching for non-cognitive barriers to good performance. Such barriers could include: (a) impoverished vocabulary; (b) difficulty with metaphorical thinking; (c) failure to understand the nature of the task; (d) uncooperativeness and poor achievement motivation; (e) expressive problems, such as extreme timidity, anxiety over expressing oneself verbally, or psychological pressure to finish one’s answers as quickly as possible, i.e., in the minimal number of words; (f) impulsive responding as opposed to careful reflection. Examiners can discover vocabulary problems by asking examinees whether there are any words that they do not understand, or any “new” words. Any such difficulty is then overcome by supplying the definitions. Difficulty with metaphorical thinking is often revealed by puzzled facial expressions as well as by totally concrete thinking, i.e., difficulty getting beyond the specific content of a proverb (e.g., chickens and eggs, horses and barn doors, bridges). One can often overcome that fairly easily by asking such questions as “Do you think that could mean something that has nothing to do with chickens or eggs?” Examiners should assure themselves that all examinees understand what the task requires them to do, i.e., to give the meaning of each proverb or proverb set. Testing should not proceed until such understanding has been established. Motivational problems are more difficult to manage. Examiners SHOULD NOT try to overcome such problems by making such ridiculous statements as “This is not a test” and “This is a game.” Besides being outright lies, such statements are transparent, misleading, and often lead to mistrust. Appeals for help can be effective at enlisting examinees’ cooperation; e.g., “I am trying to find out how children think about sayings that we hear sometimes. I hope you will help me do that by doing your best to tell me the meanings of these sayings.” The statement that “There are no right or wrong answers” is also a lie, because the examiner has every intention of scoring examinees’ responses according to what the examiner has determined to be right and wrong. One can say, honestly, “Different people give different answers to these. You might say they mean different things to different people. I am very interested to know what they mean to you, what you think about them.” Impulsivity can be dealt with in the usual ways, e.g., by assuring examinees that the test is not timed, that it is important to take time to think about the proverbs before starting to give their meaning, and that it is a good idea, even after an
answer has popped into our heads, to think about it for a little while and consider whether it is the best possible answer. When impulsive behavior continues, be more direct, e.g.: “Please take your time. I think you are answering too quickly, so you might not be giving me the best answers you could possibly come up with. Just slow down, take all the time you need, and be sure to give yourself plenty of thinking time.” Both pre-cognitive and metacognitive mediation are done using the test items that did not earn full credit on the first (A-1 and A-3) administrations. Mediation of metacognitive operations should be done as examinees show that they need such help; i.e., do not mediate what they already know and seem to be applying. Here are some examples of specific metacognitive mediation. If an examinee appears not to be taking in all the necessary information in a proverb, and/or not understanding the search for generalizable meaning: Examiner
Examinee
Let’s look at this one carefully. What is it about?
Well, it’s about having too many irons in the fire.
Is it positive or negative; that is, is having many irons in the fire good or bad?
It’s negative. Don’t do it.
If we were being very literal, very precise about the meaning, what could that mean?
Well, in the old west, cowboys had to heat up branding irons so they could put their brand on the cattle.
So why shouldn’t they have a whole bunch of branding irons in the fire at once?
Because they couldn’t handle or keep up with that many. They might forget which ones they are supposed to use.
Good. But remember, we have to look for another kind of meaning, something that does not have anything to do with fires and branding irons. What could it mean about life, about our everyday lives?
I guess it could mean that you should not have more stuff going on at one time than you can handle.
That’s good. Do you think you could make that kind of meaning even broader, even more general, applying it to more life situations, if you looked at the other two proverbs in that set?
Well, usually they all mean the same thing. Let’s see. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew” does not seem to have much to do with fires and branding irons!
I think you are right about that! Does that one help us to understand a more general
Yes, I think it could mean that we have to look ahead and kind of
meaning of these two proverbs?
estimate what we can handle.
Great. Now look at the third one.
OK. That really helps. “Your eyes should not be bigger than your stomach” sort of stretches the meaning. Now you really do have to look ahead, think about how much you can do, what you can handle, before you take on jobs or activities.
That’s great! You see, you are now thinking almost automatically about general meaning and not just the specific meaning of the way the proverbs are stated. Do you know what it is called when we state general meanings in terms of some image, some familiar situations?
No, I don’t think I do.
Well, it can be called “thinking in metaphors.” When we say, “Life is just a bowl of cherries,” that is a metaphor. Is life really a bowl of cherries? It’s a metaphorical way of saying that life is good, a pleasure, lots of fun.
I see. So what you want me to do is look past the metaphors and try to find out the real, deeper meaning.
Yes, that’s it. But it isn’t just deeper meaning. It is meaning in a much larger number of circumstances. So if we say “Don’t have too many irons in the fire,” we have to know the meaning so we can apply that to, let us say, games, or business, or everyday life, in the city as well as on the range.
Testing the Limits After having given Forms A-1 and A-3, then the mediational intervention, then B1 and B-3, there may still be a number of items on which the examinee has not earned full credit. It is possible to test the limits by administering these items again, in either of two different ways. In the first, more traditional, way, the examiner suggests responses and asks the examinee to evaluate them. For example, for this item *The pot calls the kettle black. It takes one to know one. The best place for criticism is in front of your mirror. the examiner might say, “Some people might say that it means that you should not call people names, and others might say it means you should take a good look at yourself before being critical of others, and still others might say it means be careful about criticizing other people because you might get criticized back. Do you think any of those might be a good interpretation?” The examiner can then ask, “Which of them would be the best interpretation?” The response is recorded. The scoring of these “limits” responses does not enter into the scoring of Forms A and B, but the record should be retained. If an examinee who has failed to give an abstract interpretation then selects a good abstract interpretation during the “limits” phase, it could be an indication that the ability to do verbal abstracting has actually developed and not been lost, but that the difficulty might lie at the level of expression or response selection. It is also perhaps a good idea to include the examinee’s own previous responses to the same item when offering several for an examinee’s evaluation. A second approach to testing the limits is to follow the procedure outlined in the Test of Verbal Abstracting (TVA): After administering the usual forms, re-administer the items that have not earned abstract credit, but this time instead of asking “What does this saying mean?” the examinee asks, “Would you please tell me three possible meanings that this/these saying(s) has/have?” Again, if a good abstract interpretation appears among the three given, it could indicate that the problem (the reason for earlier failure on these items) lies at the expressive/response selection level rather than at the processing level.
