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EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

and  also  the  improvement  which  comes  entirely  through  a
familiarity  with  the  tests,  it  is  highly  advisable  to  have
alternatives—three  or  four,  if  necessary—for  every  test.
These  alternatives  will  be  very  much  like  the  originals;
with  such  differences  as  will  make  it  impossible  for  anyone ­
  who  remembers  any  details  of  the  first  one  to  profit  by
this  experience  in  taking  the  second  one.
The  increasing  numbers  in  which  psychological  examinations ­
  are  being  given  has  made  it  necessary  to  pay  an
increasing  amount  of  attention  to  the  problem  of  wholesale ­
  examination.  Until  recently,  nearly  all  mental  tests
were  given  to  one  individual  at  a  time,  and  each  individual ­
  was  allowed  as  much  time  as  he  required  to  complete ­
  the  test.  This  enabled  the  examiner  to  devote  his
entire  attention  to  one  individual.  The  advantages  of
this  method  are  obvious.  Not  only  is  it  possible  to  give
the  most  careful  and  immediate  directions,  but  it  is  also
possible  to  observe  any  accidental  feature  which  might
arise,  such  as  the  breaking  of  a  pencil  point.  However,  it
has  become  highly  desirable,  at  times,  to  give  the  same
test  to  a  group  of  several  subjects  at  the  same  time.  This
method  has  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  connotated
by  the  word  wholesale.  It  makes  possible  a  larger  number
of  examinations  in  less  time,  but  it  also  reduces  the  possibility ­
  of  close  individual  attention  on  the  part  of  the  examiner. ­
  It  can  not  be  used  with  all  tests,  but  only  with
paper  tests,  or  with  tests  for  which  the  necessary  apparatus ­
  can  be  provided  in  large  quantities.  The  manner  in
which  group  tests,  as  they  are  technically  known,  are  given
has  already  been  partly  described.
This  method  makes  it  advisable  to  allow  to  everyone  a
limited  amount  of  time,  instead  of  permitting  each  individual ­
  to  complete  the  test.  For  instance,  in  giving  the