CHAPTER l. 



WOBK OF THE COMMITTEE AT VTNELAND, N. J. 



The Committee on the Psychological Examination of Recruits was composed of R. M. 

 Yerkes, chairman; W. V. Bingham, secretary; H. H. Goddard, T. H. Haines, L. M. Terman, 

 F. L. Wells, and G. M. Whipple. It met at the Training School, Vineland, N. J., on the after- 

 noon of May 28, 1917. The chairman reported briefly on the developments which led to the 

 organization of the committee and enumerated the various activities of the Council of the 

 American Psychological Association and of the psychology committee of the National Research 

 Council with respect to the relations of psychology to military affairs. In the evening of the 

 same day the chairman set forth his conception of the problems which faced the committee, 

 emphasizing in particular the importance of the following: (1) The identification of intellec- 

 tually incompetent recruits; (2) the identification of the psychotic; (3) the mental diagnosis 

 of incorrigibles ; (4) the selection of men for special tasks. In particular the chairman pro- 

 posed that methods be developed for the use of psychological examiners in the Army. He 

 suggested that examinations in the main be individual examinations, consisting of a short 

 series of mental tests, which would require approximately 10 minutes for the average subject. 



This presentation was followed by a discussion of the possible contributions of psychology 

 to military efficiency, which resulted in the general conclusion that intelligence tests offered 

 the best possibilities of practical service. It was proposed, therefore, to confine the work 

 chiefly to the classification of recruits on the basis of intellectual ability, with special reference 

 to the elimination of the unfit and the identification of exceptionally superior ability. 



The second day was entirely devoted to a discussion of the relative merits of brief indi- 

 vidual tests and group tests requiring a longer time. The committee unanimously agreed 

 that an effort should be made to test all recruits. Obviously, if this was to be done by the 

 method of interview and individual examination, the tests would have to be so brief that their 

 reliability would be questionable. It was pointed out that the briefer the examination and 

 the more it depended upon expert estimate by a clinical psychologist, the more difficult it would 

 be to secure uniformity of method and interpretation of results. 



Section 1 . — Development of a group examination. 



Fortunately, certain members of the committee had had encouraging experience with 

 various types of group tests and believed that these or others of similar kind could be readily 

 adapted for Army work. In this connection the contribution made by Arthur S. Otis, in devising 

 a system of group tests, deserves special mention. The Otis tests embodied certain ingenious 

 devices which permitted responses to be given without writing, and made possible objectivity 

 in scoring. Otis generously placed all of his methods, together with correlational data which 

 they had yielded, in the hands of Terman, who brought them before the committee. The 

 scale which resulted from the committee's work bears a close resemblance to the Otis scale. 

 Four of the 10 tests in the original Army scale for group testing were taken from the Otis scale 

 practically without change, and certain others were shaped in part by suggestions derived 

 from the Otis series. 



The third day of work was devoted to a discussion of various tests which might be adapted 

 for use in group examinations. After many suggestions for tests had been made, it was decided 

 to have each member of the committee rate the tests proposed on each of several different 

 criteria. It was agreed that the chief features determining the value of a mental test for the 

 purpose in view were the following: (1) Adaptability for group use. (2) Validity as a measure 



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