Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and MethodsHollingworth, Harry L. (Harry Levi)
Science
Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods
Hollingworth, Harry L. (Harry Levi)
Psychophysiology
These replies have been collated and attempts made to secure "clinical
pictures" of the type of individuals. These methods result in such
characterizations as the following. The words specifying the vocation
itself are omitted, and the reader is invited to guess which of the large
number of possible callings is being described.
"The girl who enters ---- should be able to use good language, and should
dress neatly and appropriately in order to impress people agreeably. She
should be able to write a legible hand, make clear figures, and spell
correctly; a practical knowledge of arithmetic, especially fractions, is
very important. Prime requisites for success are interest and enthusiasm
and a knowledge of human nature. The born ---- takes a vital interest in
her ----, in her ----, and in her ----. She studies her ----, learns
something of their ----, knows what their good points are, and is able to
---- about them intelligently and truthfully. She is a good judge of
people, and she has the sincerity and the tact which enable her to help a
---- so to ---- as to go away satisfied and come to her again. Such a ----
is alert, energetic, and gives strongly the impression that she is in her
place to ---- and therefore never displays an indifferent manner toward
anyone who may ask her service. Loyal to her work, she is always courteous,
for loss of temper means loss of ---- ----."
Now, if one but insert suitable words where the omissions occur, the
paragraph remains equally applicable and illuminating when applied to any
of the following occupations, diverse as they seem to be: housekeeper,
waitress, stenographer, milliner, teacher, mother, doctor, nurse, cashier,
sales-woman, insurance agent, bookkeeper, clinical psychologist, private
secretary. The following paragraph is equally illuminating:
"If a girl wishes to succeed in ---- she must be possessed with
intelligence [How much?], good judgment and common sense. She must have
good eyesight, good hearing and a good memory. She must have good
perception and be able to concentrate her attention completely on any
matter in hand. In addition to these she must be neat in executing ----
work and accurate to the last degree. It is absolutely necessary that she
have a good education."
It would require several trials to guess of what particular occupation this
is a psychographic picture.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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