Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and MethodsHollingworth, Harry L. (Harry Levi)
Science
Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods
Hollingworth, Harry L. (Harry Levi)
Psychophysiology
Another difficulty encountered at this point is the fact that such direct
measures of vocational success as have been utilized in these comparisons
are in themselves subject to very large error. Only in recent years, and as
a result of the emphasis of the human factor in industry, has it come to be
the common practice to secure adequate records of the work of the
individual as contrasted with the work of the gang. Even today such records
are available in accurate form for only the simpler operations, in which
standardized conditions of work can be maintained. The relative success of
salesmen, for example, is not fairly measured in terms of the amounts of
their sales, the number of prospects interviewed, or the frequency with
which the assigned tasks are accomplished, unless the local trade
conditions of the respective territories are fully taken into account.
Inasmuch as such errors of measurement tend to reduce the apparent
correlation between the traits measured, it is extremely probable that the
psychological tests are even more significant than their present results
indicate. Refinement of the tests must be accompanied by more accurate and
precise measurement of the actual working efficiency of individuals in the
industrial field, if the results of the one are ever to represent the
amount of the other. In this as in many other respects, the development of
vocational tests depends as much upon the active and intelligent
cooperation of industrial concerns as it does upon the enthusiasm and
diligence of the psychological investigators.
From the point of view of the employer, the incompleteness of the
correlation between tests and direct measures is of little concern. Even a
very small positive correlation affords him a degree of guidance in the
selection of his workers that was far from forthcoming under the haphazard
methods of employment that have been traditional. But from the point of
view of the individual who is seeking guidance, or who is accepted or
rejected on the basis of his performance in psychological tests, any
correlation which is imperfect may lead to occasional injustice and
misdirection.
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