Take The Male Brain Questionnaire

Do you think you know how a man thinks? Complete author Michael Gurian's questionnaire and see if your thought patterns are more like a man or woman's.

On another sheet of paper list "A," "B" and "C," pick one answer for each item, making for ten answers in total. Give each A answer 3 points, each B answer 2 points, and each C answer 1 point. At the end, figure the total points.

1. When you are in the car talking to your wife about a party you've both just gone to, she says something like, "Did you notice Judith and Tony seemed to be having marital problems?"

   A. Judith and Tony's relationship is not something you want to talk about.

   B. Now that you think back on it, maybe there's something to what your wife is saying, but you didn't notice anything between Judith and Tony at the party.

   C. You noticed trouble between Judith and Tony during the party.

2. When you and your wife sit together to "channel surf' in front of the TV, possession of the remote control is very important to your enjoyment of the experience.

   A. You will become anxious if you do not have control of it; she will want to watch programs that bore you or make you agitated.

   B. You will not enjoy yourself if you do not have control of the remote control, but it's okay with you if she controls it a small percentage of the time.

   C. It really doesn't matter to you what channels she or you channel surf to during the time together in front of the TV.

3. When you and your wife talk about things that happened many years ago, she remembers how everything looked, what was said by whom, and other exact sensory and feeling details.

   A. You rarely remember these experiences with as much detail.

   B. You often remember these experiences with as much detail.

   C. You have as good a memory as she does for these sorts of sensual details.

4. Your wife complains that you don't hear her or that you don't listen to her.

   A. A lot of the time.

   B. Some of the time.

   C. Never or almost never.

5. When you are looking into your computer or doing another task of concentration, you have difficulty (and even become impatient or irritable) when your wife interrupts you to talk or to ask questions.

   A. A lot of the time.

   B. Some of the time.

   C. Rarely.

6. When your wife has had a hard day or is obviously hurting about something and wants to talk to you about it:

   A. You feel anxiety.

   B. You listen briefly then try to help her solve the problem she faces.

   C. You are excited by the opportunity to connect with her and explore her feelings with her.

7. When you see a bunch of kids playing a physical game and a boy falls down:

   A. You immediately say, "You're fine. Get up and get back in there."

   B. You observe passively for a while to see if he's okay, and if you think he is, you challenge him to get back up and into the game.

   C. You move, physically, toward him and bend down to him to see if he's okay and help him up.

8. In a utopian world where you are king and can spend your free time as you choose, you would prefer to do which of the following:

   A. To exercise and/or play something physical and athletic or to play a nonphysical competitive game (like chess or poker) or to work on a project or hobby that involves building or repairing something with your hands.

   B. To relax and read a book during a beautiful sunset or call a friend and chat.

   C. To shop, preferably with someone who enjoys that activity as much as you do.

9. When you go on a drive or family trip, it's important to you to know where north, south, east, and west are.

   A. More often than your spouse.

   B. About the same as your spouse.

   C. Less often than your spouse.

10. While you and your wife are studying some written material, the radio playing in the background changes from one song to another.

    A. You are less likely than your wife to hear it quickly and comment on it.

    B. You and she apprehend and express the change in sound and song with the same frequency.

    C. You are more likely than your wife to hear this and comment on it.

The Score

The highest possible score on this test is 30, the lowest is 10. All scores, even the extremes of 30 and 10, are within the range of normal, so there is no "bad" score. To say that one score is better than another would be like saying that an assertive personality is better than a shy personality. Obviously, one's personality is simply one's psychosocial ground of being; it is not something to be judged.

This test and the score received is only one measure of where a man fits on the brain spectrum and ought to be used for entertainment and interest only.

If the man scores between 20 and 30, his brain system probably leans toward the more male end of the brain spectrum. If he scores below 20, his brain system leans more toward the female end of the spectrum, and he may be a bridge brain. There is no way to know beyond a doubt from this survey, but each of us probably has an intuitive sense of who is a bridge brain. A PET scan is a good tool for exact knowledge of bridge brains, but this technology is presently too expensive for common use.

From the book, "What Could He Be Thinking?" by Michael Gurian; Copyright (c) 2003. Reprinted by arrangement with St. Martin's Press. All rights reserved.