i;i,i.:-D V A c A^= A^ C/) o u ^ —I X n ^•^— m 30 JO U == n — o z ^= o ■ z Q ! ( — 9 ■ 1 — '. 3D 6 — - S 3D 9 ^ ! O 4 ^ = —1 : ■< u r f^- - .vi^i'mi3i:"s^is.-«.'An-> ■- '^\-\''S - ~ ■■v,-:"£>i-i^f<'i:vy;^v u.^-^'-.;-: £.'.\l •'luLc.-: isi.'^: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL BY MAJOR ROBERT M. YERKES Reprinted from The Psychological Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, March, 1919.] UNIVERSITY of CALFORNU AT LOS Ai^GELES UBRAitY ^'•> ■.•>' >75 ," , > _ 1 , t . Ed./ Psych. [Reprinted from The PsychologicAtSS^^w, Vol. 26, No. 2, March, 1919.I REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Respectfully submitted to Dr. George E. Hale, Chairman National Research Council BY MAJOR ROBERT M. YERKES, Chairman of the Psychology Committee.^ I. Organization of the Psychology Committee The Psychology Committee was organized in April, 1917, at the request of the Chairman of the Research Council, be- cause of the appearance of psychological military problems and the formulation of plans for participation in the war by the Council of the American Psychological Association. ^ The constitution of the Committee, together with such changes as have occurred by reason of resignation or addi- tional appointments, Is Indicated below: James R. Angell,^ J. McKeen Cattell, Raymond Dodge, Shepherd I. Franz, G. Stanley Hall, Walter Dill Scott, Carl E. Seashore, Edward L. Thorndike, John B. Watson, G. M. Whipple, Robert M. Yerkes, Chairman, and the late John W. Baird, Vice-chair- man. Simultaneously with the organizing of the Psychology Committee of the National Research Council, the Council of the American Psychological Association authorized the ap- pointment and designated the chairmen of twelve committees of the Association to deal with various aspects of the rela- ^ Grateful acknowledgment is made by the Chairman of the Committee to Cap- tain Richard M. Elliott for his assistance in the preparation of this report. * An account of the events which preceded the organizing of this committee and of its early activities was published under the title "Psychology in Relation to the War" in the Psychological Review, 25, 85-115, March, 1918. ^ Angell and Scott were appointed in October, 1917. Cattell resigned in October, V 1917. Baird was appointed Vice-chairman in March, 1918. 83 X 4; i^^ ± ^ ) ^ • • • • 84 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE tlons of psychology to the war. With a few exceptions, these committees were ultimately organized by their chairmen. Subsequently all which attained complete organization and became active were constituted subcommittees of the Psy- chology Committee of the Research Council. This was done for convenience and efficiency of administration, since the chairman of the Psychology Committee of the Research Coun- cil was also, during the year 191 8, President of the American Psychological Association and in this capacity responsible for the operation of the Association's war committees. The following list of committees which have been active for varying periods during the military emergency at once supplements the history of psychological service previously published in this journal and supplies a scheme for the pre- sentation of the results achieved by the Psychology Commit- tee and through its cooperation. 1. Committee on psychological literature relating to mili- tary affairs. Chairman, Madison Bentley. 2. Committee on the psychological examination of re- cruits. Chairman, Robert M. Yerkes. 3. Committee on psychological problems of aviation, in- cluding examination of aviation recruits. Chairmen, Harold E. Burtt, George M. Stratton, and Edward L. Thorndike (serving successively). 4. Committee on the selection of men for tasks requiring special aptitude. Chairman, Edward L. Thorndike. 5. Committee on recreation in the army and navy. Chair- man, George A. Coe. 6. Committee on problems of vision which have military significance. Chairman, Raymond Dodge. 7. Committee on pedagogical and psychological problems of military training and discipline. Chairmen, Charles H. Judd and William C. Bagley (serving successively). 8. Committee on psychological problems of incapacity, including those of shell-shock and reeducation. Chairman, Shepherd I. Franz. 9. Committee on problems of emotional stability, fear and self-control. Chairman, Robert S. Woodworth. OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 85 10. Committee on "Propaganda behind the German Lines." Chairman, James R. Angell. 11. Committee on acoustic problems of military impor- tance. Chairman, Carl E. Seashore. 12. Committee on tests for deception. Chairman, John F. Shepard. 13. Committee on adaptation of psychological instruc- tion to military educational needs. Chairman, Raymond Dodge. In addition to the lines of service indicated by the titles of committees, special work was done by individual members of the Psychology Committee or of its subcommittees as follows : 14. For the Division of Military Intelligence, on methods of selecting and training scouts and observers, by John B. Watson and Madison Bentley. 15. For the Chemical Warfare Service, on psychological problems of the gas mask, by Raymond Dodge, John W. Baird, and Knight Dunlap. 16. For the Committee on Education and Special Train- ing of the War Department, on adaptation of army intelli- gence tests for use in the Students' Army Training Corps, by Lewis M. Terman. 17. For various military and civilian agencies, studies of special problems in learning, methods of instruction, and methods of selecting for special tasks, by L. L. Thurstone, Herbert S. Langfeld, and Robert S. Woodworth. II. Committee Service and Expenditures The Psychology Committee depended chiefly on three in- strumentalities for the conduct of its service and research: subcommittees, conferences, and appointments in the army or navy. The results obtained through these several instru- mentalities will be presented under the subcommittees or special topics listed above. Though many of the subcommittees have seemingly played unimportant roles, it is nevertheless clear that this form of organization was indispensable for the instigation and main- 86 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE tenance of service. Appointments in the army and navy rank next in importance, for it usually was found desirable to have experienced and highly trained specialists administer for the army or navy the methods which were prepared and recommended by the Committee or its subcommittees. The conference has served the important purpose of bringing to- gether, for a relatively short period, a group of individuals especially interested in and competent to discuss and advise concerning certain immediately important practical questions. Although the activities of the Psychology Committee have extended over a period of nearly two years, its expendi- tures, omitting clerical help, office rental, and supplies which were furnished by the Research Council, amount to less than twenty-five hundred dollars. Of this sum approximately nine hundred dollars was used for the personal assistance of psy- chologists in the work of the Committee or of the Division of Psychology, Surgeon General's OfHce; about one thousand dollars for conference expenses, and the remainder for print- ing, preparation of charts, and incidentals. III. Organization and Services of Subcommittees AND Special Investigations of the Psychology Commit- tee I. Committee on Psychological Literature Relating to Mili- tary Affairs. — This committee was originally authorized by the Council of the American Psychological Association, which at the same time designated Howard C. Warren as chairman. Because of Warren's inability to serve, Madison Bentley was made chairman of the committee. Bentley, although never assisted by an organized group, rendered important service by supplying the various committees and subcommittees with references to pertinent psychological articles and with sum- maries of the more important of such articles. This work ceased when Bentley accepted appointment in the Signal Corps to assist with the work of the Aviation Ex- amining Boards. He had already succeeded in demonstrating to the satis- faction of psychologists who were directing the activities of OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 87 subcommittees that the psychological literature relating to military problems was not of great practical importance in connection with the emergency, because most of the tasks presented to or discovered by the committee demanded en- gineering of the pioneer sort. 2. Committee on the Psychological Examination of Recruits. — This committee of the Psychological Association was ac- cepted as a subcommittee of the Psychology Committee of the Research Council in November, 1917. It was organized in May, 1917, with the following membership: Walter V. Bing- ham, Herbert H. Goddard, Thomas H. Haines, Lewis M. Terman, F. Lyman Wells, Guy M. Whipple, and Robert M. Yerkes, chairman.^ During June, July, and August of 1917, the committee prepared and directed the trial of group and Individual pro- cedures for psychological examination of recruits. Subse- quently, various members of the committee- made indispen- sable contributions by assisting with the revision of the meth- ods. The final meeting of this committee was held on June 17, 1918, on which date it was called in conference by the chair- man of the Psychology Committee of the Research Council to consider the scientific utilization of methods and results of mental testing in the army. At this conference, It was de- cided to attempt to preserve for subsequent careful analysis and statistical study at least 200,000 of the original records of psychological examinations of recruits. At the same time, the committee carefully considered and formulated for the guidance of the Division of Psychology, Medical Department of the Army, advice concerning the revision and utilization of methods of examining. The methods prepared for the army by this committee, consisting of a procedure for the examination of large groups of subjects and also a series of tests for individual examina- tion, were accepted by the Medical Department of the Army ^ The committee was assisted in its early work on methods by N. J. Melville, E. A. Doll, and members of the Department of Psychological Research of the School for the Feeble-minded, Vineland, N. J. * Notably, Bingham, Haines, Terman, and Whipple. 88 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE in August, 1917, for official trial. They have since been thoroughly revised and importantly supplemented in the light of extensive results. During November and December of 1917 thorough mili- tary trial of these methods in four cantonments yielded re- sults which led the Surgeon General to recommend to the War Department the extension of psychological examining to include "all company officers, all candidates for officers' training camps, and all drafted and enlisted men." This extension was approved by the War Department in January, 1918, and at the same time a Division of Psychology was created in the Office of the Surgeon General to organize and direct this new variety of service. To supply the requisite trained personnel for psycholog- ical examining, a school of Military Psychology was estab- lished at the Medical Officers' Training Camp, Fort Ogle- thorpe, Georgia. Approximately one hundred officers and three hundred enlisted men were given two months of inten- sive training in this school. The instruction included, in addition to training in procedures of army psychological ex- amining, the courses in military drill, army paper work, and medical department administration, regularly required for medical officers of the army. The methods were carefully revised during January and February, 1918, as a result of the official trial; the necessary equipment to supply approximately two hundred examining officers was manufactured, and the various forms of examina- tion blank were printed In large editions In order that all examining stations should be adequately equipped. Suitable buildings for psychological work were either as- signed or constructed in the principal army training camps, and within a few months the service was satisfactorily or- ganized. The principal results of psychological examining may be summarized statistically and their applications briefly indi- cated. The work of mental examining was organized finally in thirty-five army training camps. A grand total of 1,726,000 OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 89 men had been given psychological examination prior to Jan- uary I, 1919. Of this number, about 41,000 were commis- sioned officers. More than 83,000 of the enlisted men inclu- ded in the total had been given an individual examination in addition to the group examination for literates, for illiterates, or both. Between April 27 and November 30, 1918, 7,749 (0.5 per cent.) were reported for discharge by psychological examiners because of mental inferiority. The number of recommenda- tions for assignment to labor battalions because of low-grade intelligence was 9,871 (0.6+ per cent.). A total of 9,432 men (0.6+ per cent.) were recommended for assignment to development battalions in order that they might be carefully observed and given preliminary training to discover, if pos- sible, ways of using them in the army. During this same period of six months, there were re- ported 4,744 men with mental age ratings below seven years; 7,762 between seven and eight years; 14,566 between eight and nine years; 18,581 between nine and ten years. This gives a total of 45,653 (3 per cent.) men under ten years' mental age. It is extremely improbable that many of these individuals were worth what it cost the government to main- tain, equip, and train them for military service. The original purpose of psychological examining in the army was stated as follows in the preamble to the plan first submitted to the Surgeon General: "The Council of the American Psychological Association is convinced that in the present emergency American psychology can substantially serve the government, under the Medical Corps of the Army and Navy, by examining recruits with respect especially to intellectual deficiency, psychopathic tendencies, nervous in- stability, and inadequate self-control." It was the expectation of psychological examiners that their principal service would be assistance in the prompt dis- covery and proper disposition of mental defectives. Long before the official trial of methods of examining had ended, however, it had become clear that various other applications were desired by officers of the line and that the significance of 90 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE psychological service would unquestionably be much broader than had been supposed. The official medical inspector of this work in his report listed its chief purposes as: {a) to aid in segregating the mentally incompetent, {b) to classify men according to their mental capacity, and {c) to assist in select- ing competent men for responsible positions. With the extension of psychological examining, these three lines of application rapidly became differentiated, and both line and medical officers discovered, for themselves or with the assistance of psychological examiners, new and important ways of utilizing mental ratings to increase military effici- ency and to lessen the cost of training and maintenance. The principal practical uses of these ratings common to the majority of the training camps in which the service was or- ganized are listed below: (i) For the discovery of men whose superior intelligence warranted their consideration for promotion, special training or assignment to positions of unusual responsibility or diffi- culty; (2) for assistance in selecting suitable candidates for officers' training schools, non-commissioned officers' training schools and other special training organizations; (3) for the guidance of personnel adjutants in the assignment of recruits so that organizations might be built in accordance with desir- able intelligence specifications or, in the absence of such speci- fications, so that their different constituent parts, such for example as the companies of a regiment, should possess ap- proximately the same mental strength, thus avoiding the risk of weak links in the army chain; (4) for the prompt dis- covery of men whose low grade intelligence or mental peculi- arities rendered them of uncertain value in the army, and the assignment of such individuals to development battalions for observation and preliminary training; (5) for the discovery and recommendation or assignment to labor battalions of men obviously so inferior mentally as to be unsuitable for regular military training, yet promising serviceableness in simple manual labor; (6) for the discovery of men whose men- tal inferiority unfitted them for any sort of military duty and whose rejection or discharge should therefore be recommended OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 9^ to medical officers; (7) for utilization In connection with the organization of special training groups so that each group might be Instructed or drilled in accordance with its mental capacity, thus avoiding the delay Incident to dull or awkward individuals and enabling the especially able men to proceed rapidly and ultimately to take special forms of training in preparation for promotion or other forms of responsibility. The judgment of the army concerning the practical value of this work has been very clearly indicated by reports of com- manding officers. On completion of the official trial of methods in four cantonments, approximately seventy-five per cent, of the regimental and company commanders who were more or less familiar with the psychological ratings and their proposed applications expressed their approval of this new line of ser- vice and the opinion that It should be continued, extended, and its military usefulness increased. As the organization of the service was gradually perfected and the officers of the line and the Medical Corps became acquainted with its actual and possible values to them, the proportion of favorable opin- ion tended to Increase. The psychological service was so organized in each large training camp that a staff of four officers of the Sanitary Corps, six enlisted men, also trained in military psychology, and thirty to forty privates temporarily assigned for service as scorers, clerks, and orderlies, could, when necessary, exam- ine and report on from one to two thousand recruits per day. During one month the total number of psychological exami- nations in the camps approached three hundred thousand. The results of psychological examining in the army have two particularly important bearings. Their primary signif- icance Is In connection with the development and improve- ment of methods of mental measurement which are appli- cable alike to industrial, educational, military, and other practical situations. Equally important, however, with the advance in the development of methods, are the scientific results of this extensive mental survey. The most important single achievement of the group of psychologists which developed the methods for army mental 92 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE testing is the creation of a practical, serviceable, and reason- ably reliable method of group examining by which, if neces- sary, as many as five hundred individuals may be examined at one time. The improvement in methods of individual examining due to the army work and experience is also extremely important, for more than eighty-three thousand individual examinations were made and the attention of a large number of expert examiners was concentrated for months on the perfecting of procedures and the increase of their practical military value. The Performance Scale for the examination of foreign and illiterate subjects, developed by army psychological exam- iners, has wide applicability. Like the group examination devised especially for subjects incapable of reading and writ- ing English to any considerable extent, it marks a most sig- nificant advance in mental examining. It is already evident that the contributions to methods of practical mental measurement made by this committee of the National Research Council, and by the psychological personnel of the army, are profoundly influencing not only psychologists, but educators, masters of industry, and the experts in diverse professions. New points of view, interest, and expectations abound. The service of psychological ex- amining in the army has conspicuously advanced mental en- gineering, and has assured the immediate application of methods of mental rating to the problems of classification and assignment In our educational institutions and our in- dustries. If the full value of the labor on methods of mental measure- ment and the results of their use in the army is to be achieved, this work must be adequately reported and suitably published. The psychological staff of the Surgeon General's Office has made a tentative arrangement which promises to provide a satisfactory permanent scientific record. It is proposed to prepare, first of all, a comprehensive of- ficial report of psychological service for the Surgeon General of the army and to recommend its publication by the Govern- ment. This report will present the history and organization OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 93 of psychological examining in the army; an account of the methods as originally recommended, as revised, and as finally applied throughout the army; the history of the organization of the School for Military Psychology, and of the appointment training and assignment of the psychological personnel of the Sanitary Corps, and, finally, a summary account of the re- sults of psychological examining and their values to the army, together with recommendations or report concerning the re- lations of this service to the permanent United States Army. It is believed that this report can be limited to approximately three hundred pages. For scientific purposes, it is planned to prepare more de- tailed reports on methods and results which it is hoped may be published as memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences. The initial volume, the manuscript of which is nearly completed, will consist of three parts: (i) An introductory description of the inception and organization of psychological service. (2) A detailed description of the methods of army examining in the various forms in which they have been tried out. This part of the volume will reproduce the directions for examination and the several examination blanks, together with all other printed materials, norms, and other standards of judgment which are essential for the proper understanding of the methods and their uses. (3) As a third part, it is pro- posed to present a complete account of the results of official trial of the methods in four National Army cantonments. This will include a description of the principal phases of the early organization of psychological service in the army and of the general relations of results of examining to revisions of method and extension of the work to the entire army. In a second volume it is planned to present results of the examination of approximately 1,600,000 soldiers. In addi- tion to a general description of results, the volume will pre- sent a statistical study (based upon data secured with the Hollerith System) of approximately 200,000 records of exam- ination chosen so that they adequately represent states, arms of the service, negroes and whites, and types of camp. Finally, miscellaneous materials which cannot properly 94 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE be placed in the preceding volumes v/ill be published either separately or as a third volume. It is not improbable that these studies should be placed in psychological periodicals rather than the National Academy series. So far as the time of the psychological staff permits, these miscellaneous studies will present results bearing on such generally important topics as the nature and distribution of illiteracy among negroes and whites, and the relation of illiteracy to intelligence; the intelligence of the negro as compared with that of other racial groups; the relation of intelligence to geographical distribu- tion and its significant bearings upon educational, industrial, and other social problems; the geographical distribution of intelligence in relation to the newly arrived or partially assim- ilated immigrant; the relation of intelligence to occupation and the significance of army occupational classification and intelligence ratings in connection with the practical problems of securing and utilizing mental specifications for vocational guidance; the mental characteristics of conscientious objec- tors and their significance for military service, educational activities, and social or governmental obligations. These are only a few examples of the miscellaneous studies which should be based on the abundant data of examination and special report available in the Office of the Surgeon General. The preparation of the several volumes and special studies enumerated above is already well advanced. It is hoped that the volume on methods and initial results may be ready for publication early in the spring of 1919 and that it may be followed promptly by the volume on the analysis of results, the official report, and the more important of the miscella- neous studies. The above plan, it is believed, provides as adequately as is now practicable for the publication of the results of mili- tary psychological service in the interests of the army and of other governmental agencies as well as of education and in- dustry. 3. The Committee on Psychological Problems of Aviation^ including Examination of Aviation Recruits, was authorized by the Council of the American Psychological Association. OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 95 It was made a subcommittee of the Research Council in November, 1918. Under the chairmanship of Harold E. Burtt, the committee, whose other members were W. R. Miles and L. T. Troland, undertook the selection and de- velopment of mental and physiological tests which promised a priori to be indicative of aptitude for flying. Various exist- ing forms of apparatus were adapted for the tests and several new forms were devised and constructed. Although the pri- mary Intention was to proceed purely empirically to deter- mine which tests were indicative of flying ability, it was also proposed to undertake the development of tests bearing on the mental and physiological state of the aviator during flight. The evaluation of tests by trial on cadets at the Army Aviation Ground School, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, was begun early In June, 1917. The following tests were given: 1. Patellar reflex with two stimuli in succession, a gradually de- creasing interval between stimuli. 2. Electrical threshold. 3. Cardiograms and records of respiration while reclining and while "chinning" oneself. 4. Finger movement; first and second fingers moving together as rapidly as possible through an uncontrolled distance. 5. Swaying; standing with a helmet beneath smoked paper. 6. Visual acuity; Ives gratings. 7. Memory test (Dodge's); words exposed one letter at a time. 8. Inhibition of winking reflex. 9. Eye reactions to light; moving from fixation point to a spot of light which appears. 10. Speed of eye movements. 11. Ocular pursuit movements; following pendulum. 12. Reversed maze; tracing it visibly and then invisibly and rotated. 13. Association reaction with crucial words involving fear, falling, etc. 14. Motor learning; learning a fixed series of reactions with two alternatives by trial and error. 15. Auditory difi'erence threshold with loud standard similar to the sound of a motor. 16. Distance and velocity estimation; moving target passes across 96 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE opening at constant rate and then disappears; the subject tries to stop it when it has reached (invisibly) a given point. 17. Continuous choice reaction; each stimulus being produced by the preceding correct reaction. 18. Tapping with index finger vertically between two fixed contacts. 19. Equilibrium reaction time; subject sitting on platform which tilts suddenly; choice reaction to the direction of tilt. 20. Simple visual reaction time. 21. Simple auditory reaction time. 22. Fatigue; ergograph with middle finger. 23. Emotional stability; changes in pulse, breathing and arithmet- ical performance as affected by a revolver shot. About seventy-five cadets were given the above series of tests. Arrangements had been made to correlate test per- formances with records from the flying schools as soon as these men learned to fly solo and also when they received the rank of "Reserve Military Aviator." Unfortunately the ex- igencies of the situation in Europe interfered with this pro- gram, since it became necessary to send some of the men direct from the ground school overseas. Records of flying ability were obtained for twenty-five of the men tested. In the summer of 1917 the committee was reorganized. Burtt resigned and George M. Stratton who had been work- ing independently on tests for aviators at Rockwell Field, San Diego, was appointed chairman. Edward L. Thorndike was chosen as executive secretary, and John B. Watson, War- ner Brown, Francis Maxfield, and H. C. McComas were added to the membership. Stratton had tested over fifty cadets in the following capacities: auditory reaction time, visual reac- tion time, emotional stability, steadiness and standing, per- ception of gradual tilt of the body as a whole, dexterity, and the power to continue in imagination certain segments of curves presented visually. A combined score showed that of the six aviators who made the lowest scores, five men subsequently were relieved from flying because of failure to learn to fly. Stratton's results, together with the entire data of Burtt, Miles, and Troland, and later the findings of Maxfield, were pooled for compara- tive analysis under the direction of Thorndike, who under- OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ^^ took a statistical study of the relation between the results of the tests and the degree of success achieved in flying. It was early foreseen that it would be necessary to select a number of tests, each properly weighted, as the practical means of predicting aptitude for flying. Provision was made by the army for a systematic and detailed tryout of promis- ing tests by Captain Stratton and Captain Henmon at Rock- well Field and Kelly Field in cooperation with the Committee on Classification of Personnel. The personnel of the group on whom the tests were tried out included one hundred men chosen on the basis of their special skill in flying, one hundred chosen as relatively inapt at flying, and one hundred candi- dates of unknown ability. This work, carried on in the spring of 1918, resulted in provision by the War Department for further research by Captain Stratton, and the authoriza- tion of four special examining units to apply the tests to can- didates for cadetship. To Major John B. Watson of the subcommittee on avia- tional problem was assigned, in the summer of 1917, the task of organizing methods, other than medical, to be used by the examining boards for the selection of personnel. Watson also assisted in organizing a group of research psychologists to collaborate with physiologists and medical officers in the study of aviational problems at the Bureau of Mines, Wash- ington. Special mention should be made of the Psychology Sec- tion of the Medical Research Laboratory at Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, Long Island, which developed from the work inaug- urated in Washington by Watson and his associates. At this station. Major Knight Dunlap^ was primarily responsible for the development of a series of psychological tests to assist in determining the ability of candidates for the aviation ser- vice to withstand the effects of high altitudes. Oxygen in- sufficiency was produced by the Henderson rebreathing ap- 1 For an account of the psychological work of this station see Knight Dunlap: "Psychological Research in Aviation," Science, N. S., 49, 94-97, Jan. 24, 1919; " Manual of Medical Research Laboratory." War Department, 1918, pp. 163-199^ and " Medical Studies in Aviation," (IV. Psychologic observations and methods.) Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 71, 1382-1400. Ocober, 1918. 98 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE paratus, and the important resulting effects on attention and on voluntary sensory-motor coordination were made the basis of practical tests for rating aviators. In general the method employed called for the performance by the subject of a group of continuous tasks involving co- ordinated reactions during the gradual decrease of oxygen supply. The composure of the subject and his ability to comprehend instructions were noted. Attention and motor tendencies were recorded on a fixed scale of types, as were also the moments when the effects of oxygen insufficiency at- tained a certain standardized importance, especially the final moment of 'complete inefficiency' which would have been followed quickly by a complete breakdown and unconscious- ness if the reactor had not been given air. The psychological section of the Mineola Station, at first under Major Dunlap and later under Major Stratton, trained and sent into the field units for administering these tests to aviation cadets. During the last half of 1918, beside the conduct of psychological tests of the ability of aviators to withstand high altitude and the consequent lack of oxygen, further research was carried on for the discovery of special aptitude for flying. To this end, experiments were instituted at Taylor Field, Montgomery, Alabama, under the immediate charge of Captain McComas, and at Souther Field, Amerlcus, Georgia, under the immediate charge of Lieutenant Bagby with special apparatus and methods in the following regions: The judgment of differing rates of motion which intersect, pursuit movements of the hand, the power to trace and re- trace a given course, the strength and maintenance of a max- imal grip, the time of complex reaction to visual signals. These experiments are now in progress and it is too soon to give their outcome even in summary. J. F. Shepard cooperated with the subcommittee on avia- tion in devising tests for aerial observers. The Shepard method of modifying photographic plates is worthy of special notice. Captain H. C. McComas of the subcommittee also con- ducted work along somewhat similar lines. OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 99 H. L. Eno and O. V. Fry developed apparatus for measur- ing the aviator's ability to point his plane quickly and accur- ately in a desired direction, as at an enemy plane. Major Watson was sent to Europe to gather statistics on the qualities essential to success as a military aviator. Dr. Parsons of the Navy received help from the committee in giving tests to every candidate for flying status in the naval air service. Parsons' study of the relation of the duration of nystagmus after rotation to flying ability yielded negative results, which are corroborative of Thorndike's findings, and supported by Dodge's analysis of nystagmus reactions. From August 4, 1918, Thorndike served as chairman of the subcommittee on aviation. The Department of Military Aeronautics had requested that he be designated as expert to prepare and put into operation methods of psychological testing appropriate for examining the personnel of that de- partment. To that effect he studied the system used by the aviational examining boards for the selection of candidates in the air service and also the intelligence tests In general use in the army. Especially by modification and supplementa- tion of the latter he developed a test of mental alertness to measure mental ability of the order requisite for success in the air service. From the records of over two thousand flyers, Thorndike determined the relation between actual success in the work of a military aviator over the lines and age, social status, intellectual ability, business achievement, athletic ability, and many other characteristics. A testing and rating plan, a part of the general plan for the selection and classification of officer material in the Stu- dents' Army Training Corps, was adopted by the Procure- ment Branch of the Personnel Section of the Air Service and was to have been put into operation in November, 191 8, for the selection of over one thousand aviation cadets per month from the Students' Army Training Corps. ^ 4. Committee on the Selection of Men for Tasks Requiring ^ This account is supplemented by E. L. Thorndike: " Scientific Personnel Work in the Army," Science, N. S., 49, 53-61, Jan. 17, 1919. lOO REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE Special Aptitude. — This committee was organized with the following membership: James C. Chapman, Truman L. Kel- ley, Walter Dill Scott, Edward L. Thorndike, chairman. It was constituted a committee on 'Tests of special skill' by the Executive Board of the Research Council in November, 1917. Numerous problems of special skill dealt with by this committee ultimately led, through the activity of Thorndike and Scott, to the organization of the Committee on Classi- fication of Personnel in the Army. By request, the following summary account of the services of the Personnel Committee has been prepared for this re- port by Walter V. Bingham, Secretary of the committee.^ "The Committee on Classification of Personnel in the Army was created by Secretary Baker, August 5, 1917, as an instrument to increase the value of the army's man-power through securing the most effective placement of each man. This has demanded an exhaustive study of the entire army organization to determine where ability of various kinds is required, and the development and supervision of an army personnel system to discover the occupational, educational and military qualifications possessed by the recruits and to insure their assignment to the proper units. "The Committee was organized with Walter Dill Scott as Director, E. L. Thorndike as Chairman, and W. V. Bingham as Executive Secretary. The other members were J. R. Angell, R. C. Clothier, Raymond Dodge, H. L. Gardner, J. F. Shepard, E. K. Strong, Jr., L. M. Terman, J. B. Watson, and R. M. Yerkes. The places of five of the original members have since been filled by J. J. Coss, W. R. DeField, W. B. Hale, P. J. Reilly and J. J. Swan. "A large force of able and devoted civilian and military associates of the Committee, in Washington, in the camps, and overseas, has made possible the realization of its plans. "For this program an initial appropriation of ^25,000 was ^ An official account of this work is in preparation for early publication by the War Department under the general title " The Personnel System of the United States Army." There will be two volumes: I. The Evolution of the Personnel System; II. The Personnel Manual. OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL lOi made, and as the scope of the Committee's responsibilities grew, additional appropriations were approved until the total amounted to ^851,650. "While it happened that the original membership of the Committee consisted almost wholly of psychologists, many industrial and business specialists in employing, classifying, and assigning men were called upon to insure the successful prosecution of the work. This has included the following activities : "(«) Classification and placement of enlisted men. Per- sonnel offices have been established in all army divisions, depot and training camps, coast defense stations, aviation fields, special training camps, for Staff Corps and at other army posts. In these offices a special card system furnished accessible information as to the educational, occupational, and military qualifications of every man. With a minimum of clerical work this system selected 973,858 men for transfer largely into technical units in the Engineers, Aviation, Ord- nance, and other Staff Corps, and even more men for trans- fer within the divisions or camps. Sixteen civilian supervis- ors, directed by the Committee, acted in an organizing and supervisory capacity in the field. Approximately 450 officers and 7,000 men were engaged in this personnel work. The number of soldiers interviewed by trained examiners and classified according to their best army usefulness was in all, approximately three and a half million. " {b) The allotment branch or central clearing office of the committee in Washington received reports on the numbers of skilled tradesmen found In each contingent of the draft, re- ceived and consolidated requisitions from the Staff Corps for specialists, and prorated these requisitions among the various camps according to their supply of necessary skilled men. On November ii, requisitions for roughly 600,000 men of designated qualifications had been filled here. Information was available at any moment for the Operations Division of the General Staff concerning the occupational qualifications of all men in the several depot brigades, army vocational schools, and similar sources of supply. I02 REPORT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY COMMITTEE " {c) Trade specifications and index of occupations. Def- initions of the many hundred different trades needed In our military establishment were prepared after exhaustive study, and were brought together In a book, "Army Trade Speci- fications." This index is an indispensable reference for Staff Corps and camp personnel officers in securing the skilled per- sonnel needed. "(^) Tables of occupational needs and personnel specifi- cations. Tables were prepared showing in detail the needs for skilled workers in each sort of platoon, company, regiment, or other unit. These tables were studied, criticized, and ap- proved by army units at the front In France, and later formed the basis for organizing quickly the newest divisions. Out of these occupational tables have developed the Personnel Speci- fications which have now been completed for the enlisted personnel of four hundred different kinds of organizations. " (