BIOLOGY IN HUMAN AFFAIRS 



Studies of personality; and many others, notably Strong, 

 have further refined and extended these methods of attitude 

 measurement as aids in ascertaining occupational and 

 professional interests. Such techniques have a place and 

 will probably not be entirely superseded even though the 

 psychologist at some future time succeeds in inventing still 

 more direct and objective means of measurement, based on 

 determination of what the individual actually does when 

 confronted by a choice of opportunities. 



Industry' s Use of Psychological Tests. The successes of 

 the military psychologists in 1917-1918, and during the 

 days of the occupational-rehabilitation movement follow- 

 ing the World War, served to spread throughout industry 

 an acquaintance, even though superficial, with the aims 

 and possibilities of employment psychology, giving focus 

 to the general interest which Miinsterberg had stimulated 

 some ten years before. Many thousands of intelligence-test 

 blanks were purchased for business use. Firms like the 

 Eastman Kodak Company installed, as part of their 

 selection procedures, peg-board performance tests of manual 

 dexterity and other objective measures of ability, to help in 

 discovering talent for inspection work as well as for 

 assembly operations and jobs requiring mechanical inge- 

 nuity. The extent to which some firms have carried the 

 use of tests as an aid in selection is evidenced by the fact 

 that during 1930 the employment department at Macy's 

 gave psychological examinations to more than 14,000 of 

 the applicants for positions in that store. 



The value of a rigorously scientific procedure in develop- 

 ing and adapting such tests to the demands of a specific 

 situation is well illustrated by an investigation recently 

 made by Viteles in the Philadelphia Electric Company. 

 Here operating mistakes of electrical substation operators 

 have been reduced 43 per cent through the use of psy- 

 chological tests in the reassignment of these men. The 



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