116 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [Vol.xv. 



SERVICES IN DEVELOPMENT BATTALIONS. 



Development battalions were first authorized in May, 1918. Their functions were "to re- 

 lieve other organizations of all unfit men; to conduct intensive training with a view to devel- 

 oping such men; promptly to rid the service of all men who, after thorough trial and examination, 

 are found physically, mentally, or morally incapable of performing the duties of a soldier." 

 Psychological examinations in all camps resulted in the recommendation of a large number of 

 men to such organizations on account of mental unfitness. In some camps orders were issued 

 that no man should be so transferred without consideration of his psychological record. Later 

 examinations inside the battalions themselves assisted the commanding officer and the medical 

 officer in charge in the classification of men for training and other purposes. In at least eight 

 camps special training companies in the battalion were formed primarily on the basis of psycho- 

 logical grades. 



A War Department circular on "the instruction in English of soldiers who have not suf- 

 ficient knowledge of the language," July, 1918, directed that — 



Prom time to time the Psychological Division, Sanitary Corps, will be called upon to assist to the best interests 

 of the service in determining the rate of progress of slow learning men and the reasons for their backwardness, to the 

 end that all practical and scientific means may be used to determine the best training that should 

 be given those undeveloped mentally as well as educationally. 



Accordingly in many development battalions psychological officers became to all intents 

 and purposes educational directors. Numerous requests that special psychological officers 

 be assigned for full duty in development battalions had to be refused on account of the in- 

 sufficient personnel of the Division of Psychology. At the request of Col. Lentz of the General 

 Staff, Capt. Paterson was assigned to the development battalion at Camp Meade to make a 

 special study of the methods whereby psychologists could be of special service in development 

 battalions. Capt. Basset and Lt. Houser were sent by their commanding officers to the school 

 for officers of development battalions held at Camp Meade. Afterwards Capt. Basset was 

 transferred to the infantry and placed in command of the development battalion at Camp 

 Logan. 



In the elimination of totally unfit men, after trial in the development battalion, psychological 

 recommendations were considered even more carefully and given greater weight than they had 

 been in the original examination of recruits. Thus two camps reported that some 200 men 

 previously recommended for rejection by psychologists and nevertheless accepted for service, 

 ultimately reached the development battalions and were quickly discharged for mental defi- 

 ciency. 



SERVICES TO PSYCHIATRIC EXAMINERS. 



Theoretically the mode of cooperation between psychologist and psychiatrist was laid down 

 in a joint memorandum signed by the chiefs of the two divisions involved (see pp. 87f.). In 

 practice, however, a great variety of methods for securing this cooperation was developed in 

 the camps to meet the special local requirements of temporal order of examination, spatial 

 location of examining stations, rush requirements, and the like. The details of such methods 

 are further described in the section on camp organizations (pp. 62-87). Typically different 

 methods, for example, were in operation at Camps Lee, Dix, and Pike. Psychologists served 

 with recruit examining boards in nearly all camps, and with disability boards, and in the neuro- 

 psychiatric wards of base hospitals. The fact that over 8,000 men, as the result of individual 

 psychological examination, were recommended for special psychiatric examination and dis- 

 charge indicates the magnitude of this coordinated service. 



SERVICES TO PERSONNEL OFFICERS. 



From the beginning of psychological examining, grades (or grades and scores) were 

 reported to personnel officers for entry upon qualification cards. Personnel officers used 

 these ratings for a variety of purposes, some of which are described below. 



Before the trade tests were established psychological grades were used to a greater or 

 less extent as a partial basis for occupational ratings ; thus, for example, some personnel officers 



