THE  applicant’s  POINT  OF  VIEW  367
decide  which  applicant  he  should  be.  On  the  basis  of  such
a  study  a  technique  must  be  built  up  which  will  thereafter
serve  as  a  guide  in  obtaining  the  viewpoint  of  particular
individuals,  and  which  will  reduce  the  effects  of  the  prejudices ­
  and  notions  to  which  every  human  being  naturally ­
  yields  when  he  tries  to  put  himself  in  the  place  of
another.
This  problem  can  once  more  be  resolved  into  the  terms
of  our  introductory  chapter;  namely,  the  difference  between ­
  home  remedies  and  the  scientific  method.  The
various  acts  of  imagination  and  guesswork  by  which  we
believe  that  we  can  adopt  the  viewpoint  of  another  may
be  classed  as  home  remedies.  They  may  answer  up  to  a
certain  point  or  as  long  as  the  consequences  are  not  important. ­
  They  are,  however,  much  too  full  of  the  beliefs,
traditions,  and  prejudices  which  beset  every  human  being.
They  put  the  individual  whose  viewpoint  is  being  sought
entirely  too  much  at  the  mercy  of  the  individual  who  is
trying  to  obtain  that  viewpoint.  The  scientific  method,
on  the  other  hand,  makes  a  much  more  fundamental
survey  of  the  human  mind,  and  develops  certain  impersonal ­
  guides  and  standards  by  which  to  arrive  at  individual
viewpoints.  And  although  it  begins  with  the  psychological
axioms  that  self-esteem  and  self-interest  are  common
elements  in  the  viewpoint  of  every  individual,  it  is  concerned ­
  more  largely  with  the  means  by  which  to  understand ­
  the  great  variety  of  ways  in  which  these  fundamental
elements  express  themselves  in  different  individuals.
Employment  psychology  in  its  entirety,  therefore,  is  a
scientific  attempt  to  attain  the  applicant’s  viewpoint  and
to  understand  and  satisfy  his  self-esteem  and  self-interest.
The  reason  for  devoting  a  single  chapter  to  the  subject
is  only  to  call  attention  more  vividly  to  the  manner  in