PSYCHOLOGY IN INDUSTRY 



these techniques to industrial situations. Behavior data, 

 which may be gathered quite incidentally to the administer- 

 ing of tests of intelligence or skill, are another source of 

 information regarding significant differences of tempera- 

 ment and attitude. Finally, the personal interview, skill- 

 fully administered, may be made to yield suitable grist 

 for the statistical mill. 



The employment psychologist or the vocational coun- 

 selor has done but part of his task when he has developed 

 and applied suitable measures of ability to do or to learn 

 to do the particular work in question. He needs also reliable 

 techniques to aid in predicting probable contentment and 

 satisfaction in that work. We have seen that predictions 

 may in many instances be based on statistical evaluation 

 of data already at hand, but too often neglected, or used 

 only in an intuitive or common-sense way. Such data are 

 found on application forms, physical examination records, 

 and preference questionnaires. They may be gleaned as 

 by-products of the personal interview or of intelligence 

 and trade test performance. They should be used with 

 discretion, after their reliability and their validity for the 

 particular purpose have been statistically determined. 



Psychological Aspects of Safety. Ours is a dangerous age. 

 The tempo of modern living has been accelerated far 

 beyond anything imagined by our fathers. The pace of 

 traffic, by land, sea, and air, matches the increasing speed 

 of factory machines. The resulting hazards have challenged 

 the ingenuity of engineers, who have invented clever 

 protective devices, guards, and automatic controls. But in 

 spite of the perfection of these mechanical aids to safety, 

 serious accidents have continued to occur in great numbers; 

 for failure of the human factor causes far more mishaps and 

 disasters than failure of a mechanism. And so industrial 

 psychology has sought, with gratifying success, to make 

 its contribution to safety. 



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