Prompted by the desire to find a test that will give a quantitative estimation of the degree of emotional disturbance present in mental patients, a test was evolved in which two glasses of water or colored solution were placed on the backs of the outstretched hands of a subject until a response of annoyance is elicited. The glasses are then taken off the hands of the subject and placed on a table where there are some other glasses presumably filled with the same liquid, but among which there is at least one "trick" glass which looks exactly like the glasses with the solution, but which does not spill. The trick glass is picked up and, after adequately securing the attention of the subject, a quick move is made as if to throw its contents into his face. The normal response is a defensive reaction based upon the emotion of fear. This is followed by amusement and finally curiosity. A total of 150 persons were subjected to the test, of which 25 were normal individuals. The data presented show the uniform lowering of the emotional reaction of all psychotic individuals as contrasted to the established norm of the adjusted group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)