Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from J. George Frederick’s Grow Up Emotionally and Have Fun: 58 Valuable and Amusing Psychological Tests of Emotional Maturity. Originally published in 1936, this quiz still offers a nice chance for reflecting on your emotional maturity, and whether or not it matches your biological age!
Here’s a way to measure how old you are emotionally.
If nothing has happened to warp or retard their emotional development, adults are supposed to be emotionally mature at 25 years of age. Therefore, the top mark you can get in the following quiz is 25 years old emotionally. If you come out with less than 25, you are to that extent below emotional maturity.
Answer each of the following questions by yes or no. Then refer to the answer key at the end of the questions and put down the number given for each question, according to the yes or no answer. When you finish, add up the total and divide by 25. The result is your approximate emotional age.
- Am I wavering and uncertain in my aims and purposes?
- Do my moods rise and fall constantly between elation and depression?
- Am I either considerably sensitive (or supremely confident) about my personal good looks?
- Do I sometimes become very “fed up” with everybody and everything? Or want to get away from it all?
- Am I every now and then afraid I’m an absolute failure or misfit (or every now and then convinced I’m a very wonderful person)?
- Am I able to live away from my parents or family without greatly needing them?
- Is my idea of the best possible enjoyment the company of the opposite sex?
- Would I be afraid if I were left absolutely alone in the world, without parents, sisters or brothers or relatives?
- Is it one of my keenest delights to help people and to give things to people?
- When things go wrong, am I usually of the opinion that not myself but others are to blame?
- Am I prone to lose my temper quickly and say things better left unsaid?
- Am I annoyed, or hurt or ashamed when I’m in a group and nobody pays any attention to me for long stretches of time?
- Am I prone to exaggerate, or invent tales that throw a favorable or glamorous light about me?
- Do I like to be mysterious and aloof and insinuate vague, subtle things?
- Am I never so happy as when I know I have on very “spiffy” clothes, or appearing at some “swell” place or with some very desirable companion, or when the limelight is on me?
- Do I frequently lie or argue myself out of a tight place rather than confess I was wrong or did wrong?
- Am I prone to let others do the “treating” — (or always insisting ostentatiously that I treat)?
- Do I cultivate a domineering way in order to hide the truth that I’m afraid I’m too soft or easy going?
- Am I touchy and peculiar about sex? Afraid of it or antagonistic to it because I’m rather uncontrollably passionate; or prejudiced against it because I’m not very passionate or interested?
- Am I consistently sympathetic, friendly and good chum-like to others?
- Have I any real confidence in my ability to make my way in the world, without leaning on anyone?
- Do I occasionally “stage a scene” or a tantrum, or a “fit” when things break very badly for me?
- Does it frequently seem to me that people talk about me behind my back or laugh or sneer at me, or speak with double meanings, or hidden sarcasm in their words?
- Am I tense and nervous and fretty, restless, changeful or scatter-brained?
- Am I jealous and possessive with anyone I love, and never quite satisfied that they really love me, or that they express their adoration in the way or to the extent that I would like?
Answers to Emotional Age Test
- yes: 8 — no: 19
- yes: 6 — no: 20
- yes: 9 — no: 17
- yes: 10 — no: 20
- yes: 4 — no: 29
- yes: 23 — no: 5
- yes: 31 — no: 5
- yes: 8 — no: 26
- yes: 36 — no: 2
- yes: 11 — no: 29
- yes: 7 — no: 24
- yes: 12 — no: 19
- yes: 6 — no: 21
- yes: 13 — no: 24
- yes: 9 — no: 25
- yes: 14 — no: 26
- yes: 9 — no: 19
- yes: 6 — no: 17
- yes: 5 — no: 29
- yes: 23 — no: 11
- yes: 36 — no: 10
- yes: 4 — no: 31
- yes: 8 — no: 20
- yes: 7 — no: 31
- yes: 12 — no: 22
What does your score mean?
- 25 is the perfect score
- 22 to 24 is normal maturity
- 18 to 21 is just average
- 17 and below is adolescent
Submitted by: Ben Allemann in Wayne, Nebraska
