72
EMPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGY
This has been described in the chapter on girl assemblers.
The object of the test was to determine the ability of the
subject to glance at a group of objects of various sizes and
then assemble the right object to the right space. Some
men could see at a glance where each piece belonged;
others were compelled to try out a piece on one hole after
another until, more or less by chance, they hit upon the
right space. The second test was given to determine
the subject’s ability to discern slight differences in the
size of objects shaped alike. For this test the triangles
of the smaller form board were put in irregular order.
The subject was asked to put each one in its right space.
It will be seen that this test requires ability to discriminate
between dimensions that are almost alike, a faculty which is
quite necessary in fitting parts of an action or gun together.
In addition to the ability just described, an assembler,
to be successful, must be able to do his work quickly.
In other words, he requires manual dexterity. In order
to discover the presence of this quality form board tests
numbers 22, 23, 33, 34 were used. These tests have also
been described in the chapter on girl assemblers. Strength
of hands, although not an absolute essential, is a decided
asset. The hand dynamometer was used to test for this
quality. It may be said that testing the strength of hands
is one of the most interesting and amusing of all tests, so
far as the subjects tested are concerned. In this case, as
in other cases, considerable rivalry and interest were
aroused among the men through its use.
Finally the Stenquist mechanical test was given. This
test consists of a box with eleven compartments each of
which contains some implement in its unassembled form.
The first compartment contains a simple monkey wrench;
the second contains a chain; the third a three-piece clothes
