THE APPLICANT'S POINT OF VIEW 369 
also been found that a physical examination, tactfully 
conducted, will convince an applicant that he is dealing 
with a company which will protect his physical well-being. 
The period of training described and recommended for 
new workers is a deliberate attempt to obtain the individ 
ual’s viewpoint; for it provides a mechanism which 
makes it possible to observe the new worker under vary 
ing conditions ever a comparatively long period of time. 
One of the most interesting examples of the psycho 
logical method and its appreciation of the individual’s 
viewpoint is its technique of giving tests. It is generally 
recognized that candidates for employment are likely to 
be nervous and therefore unable to do themselves justice, 
either in the tests or in the oral interview. The psychologist 
not only admits this difficulty but he attempts to over 
come it. In the first place, he leads the applicant into 
the fields of relevant activity; that is, he centers his ques 
tions and tests upon those activities in which the appli 
cant is most at home and therefore likely to be least 
nervous. When this is impracticable, shock absorbers are 
first given, tests which are particularly calculated, by 
their interest and simplicity, to absorb the excitement of 
the subject. This, is but one of innumerable ways in 
which the technique of psychology shows its concrete 
appreciation of the subtleties of the human mind. To 
give but another instance, let us refer once more to the 
development of a set of directions for giving tests. In 
order to give a test so that it will be understood correctly 
it is essential to grasp something of the viewpoint of the 
applicant. The average individual would probably try 
to imagine himself in the position of the person taking 
the test and then give his directions accordingly. He 
might write his directions down or he might even trust