ANALYSIS OF THE WORKER iv 
older workers or from those whose schooling has been in 
other countries. But where it can be obtained, it gives a 
good clue to mental retardation or acceleration. 
5. Physical characteristics. Items ordinarily covered in a 
routine medical examination sometimes prove to be of voca- 
tional importance. Any good medical examination blank 
will be suggestive in this regard. Height, weight, strength, 
health, blood pressure, sensory discrimination, physical im- 
pairments, and medical history are the minimum. 
The investigator may, if disposed, try, either directly or 
from photographs, some of the determinants in the Black- 
ford system, the Merton system, or any other system of in- 
ferring abilities from facial or bodily features He should 
be warned in advance, however, that sincere attempts of 
scientific investigators have hitherto uniformly failed to dis- 
close statistically significant and rewarding correlations be- 
tween these phrenological or physiognomic signs and valid 
criteria of character and ability. 
6. Social characteristics. When the securing of cooperation 
or the arousal of friendly attitudes in others is a necessity in 
the job, the appearance of the worker may not be neglected 
in the analysis. No man, however unprejudiced he may 
try to be, is entirely free from conditioned responses to the 
physical appearance of others. The term social character- 
istics is used here to mean those physical characteristics as 
well as those habits and modes of behavior which make a 
worker a socially acceptable or unacceptable person. Al- 
though this topic logically belongs under headings 5 and 8, 
its importance justifies Separate treatment. Questions of 
importance are: 
How does the worker impress others socially? 
How do people like his clothes, his voice, his manner? 
Has he emotional balance? 
Has he a healthy outlook on life? 
What peculiar or abnormal beliefs and reactions does he 
display? 
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