GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 



In the organization of the forces of the United States for participation in The World War, 

 science accepted an important r61e. Activities which during days of peace had been directed 

 to the development of science and its industrial applications were suddenly concentrated on 

 the vital problems of national defense. In common with the other and more exact sciences, 

 psychology demonstrated its preparedness for wholly unexpected practical demands and 

 responsibilities. 



When, on April 6, 1917, the Nation was called to war a group of experimental psychologists 

 promptly assembled to consider means of psychological service. As plans of action developed 

 the size of this group, its opportunities and responsibilities, steadily increased. The materials 

 of this report represent the methods and results of only the field of psychological examining. 

 Other phases of psychological service, equally important with that of psychological examining, 

 have been, or will be, presented elsewhere. 1 



This volume constitutes a complete account of the history, methods, and results of psy- 

 chological examining in the United States Army. It consists of three parts. Part I is the 

 official history of the development of the service and of its conduct during the war. It is 

 supplemented by reproductions of the printed materials which were devised and used. Part 

 II is devoted to a complete account of the preparation of methods, their characteristics, and 

 their evaluation as practical procedures. In Part III the results of examining are presented 

 in summary fashion, and, for reasons which are indicated below, wholly inadequately. 



The report was prepared xmder extremely trying circumstances, for immediately following 

 the armistice of November 11, 1918, pressure developed within the War Department and 

 among the emergency personnel for early discharge. This rendered it difficult to hold, for a 

 sufficient length of time, a competent staff of psychologists to analyze the data of examinations 

 and to prepare materials for publication. It was necessary to choose between the preparation 

 of a report which contained a maximum of material and one which expressed a maximum of 

 precision. The decision rested with the first alternative. Many of the obvious defects of this 

 volume must be charged against this practical decision. 



The problem of publication was still further complicated by a sense of responsibility to 

 two important agencies: the military establishment on the one hand and the science of psy- 

 chology on the other. This dual obligation rendered the task of reporting psychological examin- 

 ing peculiarly difficult, and to it the remaining shortcomings of the report may fairly be ascribed. 

 The report supplies, for the use alike of soldier and scientist, essential information concerning 

 methods and results. 



The three parts of the volume are interdependent. No one of them can be used satisfac- 

 torily, either for military purposes or in scientific research, apart from the others. To enable 

 the reader to obtain immediately a comprehensive view of the entire report, a list of the 

 chapters for the three parts is presented. 



1 Yerkes, Robert M. Psychology in relation to the war. Psych. Rev., 25 Mar., 1918, 85-115. 



Manual of Medical Research Laboratory, pp. 103-199. War Dept., 1918. 



Medical studies in aviation. IV. Psychological observations and methods. Journ. Amer. Med. Asso., 71, Oct., 1918, 1382-1400. 



Thorndike, Edward L. Scientific personnel work. Science, n. s., 49, Jan., 1919, 53-61. 



Dunlap, Knight. Psychological research in aviation. Science, n. s., 49, Jan., 1919, 94-97. 



The measurement and utilization of brain power in the Army. Science, n. s., 44, Mar., 1919, 221-226; 251-259. 



The personnel system of the United States Army. Vol. I, The evolution of the personnel system; Vol. II, The personnel manual. War 

 Dept., Washington, D. C, 1919. 



Report of the psychology committee of the National Research Council. Psych. Rev., 20, Mar., 1919, 83-149. 



Air Service Medical, pp. 293-330. War Dept., Govt. Printing Office, 1919. 



Intellectual and educational status of the medical profession as represented in the United States Army. Bulletin National Research 

 Council, No. 8, 1921. 



