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