Analyzing Character: The New Science of Judging Men; Misfits in Business, the Home and Social LifeBlackford, Katherine M. H. (Katherine Melvina Huntsinger)
Science
Analyzing Character: The New Science of Judging Men; Misfits in Business, the Home and Social Life
Blackford, Katherine M. H. (Katherine Melvina Huntsinger)
Characters and characteristics; Success
The child or adult of unusual ability, with well-marked inclinations and
strong in the fundamentals of character, is never difficult to analyze,
counsel, train, or place. If given an opportunity to gain knowledge, and
freedom in the exercise of choice, he will almost surely gravitate into
his natural line of work. He is not the real problem of the vocational
expert. But the vast majority of children are average, or even mediocre.
They show little inclination toward any study or any work. They have
weaknesses of character that will inevitably handicap them, no matter what
vocation they enter. They are the real problem. There is another class,
almost equally distressing. They are the people who are brilliant, who
learn easily, and who are so adaptable that they can turn their hands to
almost anything. They are usually so unstable in temperament that it is
difficult for them to persist in any one kind of endeavor long enough to
score a success.
METHODS OF ANALYSIS IN USE
The need, in dealing with these problems, for some more reliable guide
than the young person's inclinations and preferences has deeply impressed
itself upon those engaged in vocational study and vocational work. They
are earnestly seeking to find some better way. To this end, we have the
questionaire, by which is brought out between the lines, as it were, the
particular aptitudes and disposition of the subject. And this method is
not without its advantages. We have also psychological tests. These are of
fascinating interest and have yielded some valuable results. Some
vocational workers use the psychological tests and some do not. Even those
who are most enthusiastic for them admit that they are complicated, that
they require expensive apparatus and specially trained examiners, and that
even the best results obtainable cover a very narrow field in the
character and aptitudes of the subject.
UNIFORM METHOD NEEDED
The present need is for some uniform, readily applicable, inexpensive, and
comprehensive method of analysis. The advantages of such a method are
immediately apparent. First, its uniformity would permit the making of
records for comparison, covering a very wide range of subjects,
environment, and vocations. Second, even the simplest classifications,
which are readily learned and easily applied by the inexpert, would yield
tangible and measurable results and would be far better than the present
unstandardized and wholly unscientific methods. Third, were such a uniform
method adopted and made a part of the vocational work of our institutions;
were uniform records to be made and wisely used, we should soon have a
body of useful knowledge on this subject. Fourth, as the result of the
application of such a uniform method, text books and charts could be
prepared which would form the basis of popular education in vocational
guidance.
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