66 



MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



[Vol. XV, 



examinations had been made of these men with the result that of the 359 recommended for development battalion, 162 

 (45 per cent) were recommended by the psychologists for development battalions, and 197 (55 per cent) were recom- 

 mended for regular service. Of those above the mental age of 9, all but about 15 per cent were considered fit for regular 

 service; of those between 8 and 9, about 60 per cent; of those between 7 and 8, about 10 per cent; of those below 7, none. 



Camp Travis. July 25, 1918: The commanding officer of development battalion has agreed to cooperate by allowing 

 the psychological board to select low grade men (9 to 11 mentally) in development battalion, and try out methods of 

 training. The commanding officer will furnish noncommissioned officers for the purpose, and the psychological exam- 

 ining board will furnish a plan and a supervisor. 



Camp Taylor, August 13, 1918 : Of the individual examinations made during the past week a large percentage of the 

 cases were referred to us by various organizations in camp. All mental cases for discharge are referred by the disability 

 board for mental rating. We are assisting in every way with proper classification of mental cases in the development 

 battalion. Company commanders are referring to us those men who appear hopeless as far as drill is concerned. 

 Organizations preparing for immediate service overseas refer many cases to us. 



Camp Lewis, August 7, 1918: The commander of the development battalion has felt the need of a psychologist 

 attached directly to the development battalion to assist in the problems arising in the instruction and training of the 

 men in his charge. As a temporary arrangement, one of our trained enlisted men is being sent over daily to assist in 

 whatever way he can. * * * We are conducting experiments to determine the rate of learning of men in the devel- 

 opment battalion, with a view to recommending those who are very slow to learn, to labor units. 



Psychological examinations have been made of the development battalions at Camps Wadsworth, Meade, and a num- 

 ber of other places. The results show, as would be expected, an extremely large proportion of low letter grades. 



Camp Meade has been designated as a station for special study of the problems of the development battalion. At 

 the request of Lieut. Col. Lentz, of the general staff, for the assignment of a psychologist to this station, Lieut. Paterson 

 has been transferred from Camp Wadsworth to study psychological problems and to observe the kinds of service psy- 

 chology is prepared to render. Capt. Bassett, of Camp Logan, and Lieut. Houser, of Camp Kearny, have been sent 

 by their commanding officers for observation of development battalion work at Camp Meade. 



VIII. Cooperation vith neuro-psychiatric officers. 



Among the varieties of psychological service enumerated in an earlier monthly report, satisfactory cooperation 

 with neuro-psychiatric officers was emphasized. The following notes, selected to suggest possibilities, indicate what 

 has been and is being done in this important field at various stations: 



Camp Upton, July 1, 1918: One individual examiner has been placed permanently on the special medical board, 

 also one in the base hospital. The latter works constantly with the psychiatrist; the former helps weed out cases for 

 further examination. 



Camp Custer, August 3, 1918: At the suggestion of the neuro-psychiatric board, four men have been detailed to 

 work with the special psychiatric board which handles referred cases. All recommendations are accepted without 

 question. Of 10,542 drafted men, 175 were referred for psychological examination (1.7 per cent); 23 of these were 

 rejected. 



Camp Custer, July 27, 1918: Four individual examiners have been working with the psychiatrists. 



Camp Hancock, July 27, 1918: One member of the staff and two assistants have been detailed to work with the 

 psychiatrists. 



Camp Grant, July 2, 1918: Effective cooperation has been established with the psychiatrists. Many found 

 defective are sent home without having completed their enlistment papers, thus effecting a great saving. 



Camp Wadsworth, July 13, 1918: It has been arranged that in the future, while troops are being received, a staff 

 of psychological examiners will work with the psychiatrists during the medical examination. 



IX. Significance of intelligence scores. 



Camp Kearny, August 14, 1918: Under authorization of the chief of staff of the Fortieth Division, the chief psy- 

 chological examiner secured the cooperation of the commanding officers of 11 different organizations in an experiment 

 to determine the value of psychological ratings in picking men who are superior or inferior in military value. In each 

 organization the commanding officers designated from 15 to 30 whom they had found to be especially valuable, about an 

 equal number who were so inferior they were barely able to perform their duties, and about an equal number who were 

 deemed of average value. The officers had been with their men for from six months to a year and knew them 

 thoroughly. After the men were given psychological examination the median alpha scores were found to be as follows 

 for the superior, average, and inferior groups of the different organizations: 



