EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY  DEFINED  13

The  same  can  be  said  of  any  field  of  facts  to  which  the
scientific  method  has  been  applied,  whether  it  be  astronomy, ­
  physics,  biology,  meteorology,  chemistry,  mathematics, ­
  acoustics,  or  hydrostatics.  In  every  case,  science
consists  of  the  application  of  an  exact  and  refined  method
to  the  study  of  the  facts,  with  the  result  that  we  have
knowledge  which  has  two  chief  characteristics:  first,  it  is
relatively  free  from  the  inaccuracies  and  prejudices  of  the
unaided  human  faculties;  secondly,  it  is  standard  knowledge; ­
  that  is,  knowledge  which  can  be  transmitted  in
unambiguous  and  indisputable  form  from  one  person  to
another,  or  from  one  time  to  another.
It  is  worth  while  clearing  up  some  of  the  ambiguities
and  misunderstandings  which  cling  to  the  words  science
and  psychology,  because  by  doing  so  the  definition  of
our  own  subject,  employment  psychology,  is  made  more
easy.  Psychology  has  been  defined  as  the  application  of
the  scientific  method  to  the  actions  of  the  mind  in  general.
Employment  psychology,  therefore,  may  be  defined  as
the  application  of  the  scientific  method  to  the  mental
actions  concerned  in  employment.
The  application  of  science  to  the  problem  of  employment ­
  is  just  beginning  to  receive  serious  attention.  The
old-fashioned  method,  and  the  method  which  is  still  commonly ­
  in  use,  is  the  method  of  “  hire  and  fire”.  That  is
to  say,  there  is  no  particular  method.  Every  employer
uses  his  own  method,  and  each  one  obtains  various  results. ­
  In  general,  the  practice  is  to  receive  a  number
of  applicants,  look  them  over,  ask  them  a  series  of  general
questions,  and  then  hire  those  that  “look  good”.  Many
amusing  strictures  on  this  crude  method  have  been  written. ­
  A  quotation  from  one  of  these  will  suffice  to  typify
the  rest:  “One  large  manufacturing  establishment  has