126

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

the  foreman  based  on  his  original  impression  of  the  men
correlated  with  the  three  tests  only  to  the  extent  of  plus
.28,  thus  showing  that  in  the  course  of  training  the  men,
his  opinion  of  them  underwent  a  considerable  modification, ­
  a  modification  which  resulted  in  bringing  his  final
conclusive  ranking  of  the  men  into  very  close  harmony  with
the  ranking  immediately  given  by  the  tests.
Several  particular  examples  were  very  conspicuous.  A
young  soda-fountain  clerk  who  had  been  admitted  into
this  course  was  originally  considered  very  promising  by
the  foreman,  so  much  so  that  he  was  retained  after  the
completion  of  the  intensive  training  as  a  handy  man
around  the  machines.  The  foreman’s  original  ranking
of  this  man  was  four.  In  the  course  of  time  the  foreman
found  that  the  ability  and  intelligence  which  he  had
attributed  to  him  were  considerably  in  excess  of  what  he
really  possessed.  Indeed,  the  foreman  expressed  himself  as
quite  disappointed  in  him  and  finally  ranked  him  as
nine.  This  happens  to  be  exactly  the  rank  which  was
immediately  given  to  the  man  by  the  tests.  It  seems  that
the  superior  education  and  polish  which  he  possessed,  and
a  pleasant,  willing  disposition,  had  enabled  him  to  make  a
very  good  impression  on  the  foreman  at  the  outset  and
during  the  first  few  weeks;  but  these  virtues  did  not  have
the  same  influence  on  the  tests  as  they  had  on  the  foreman.
Another  conspicuous  case  was  that  of  a  sixteen-year-old
boy  who  began  in  the  shop  as  a  helper  and  apprentice.
This  boy  was  overgrown,  rather  slipshod  in  appearance,
and  gave  one  the  impression  of  not  being  very  wide-awake.
The  foreman’s  original  impression  placed  him  tenth  among
all  the  men  in  the  shop.  In  the  tests,  however,  this  boy
was  extremely  bright  and  successful,  ranking  first  in  one,
second  in  another,  and  fifth  in  the  third.  The  foreman’s