*95

XVII

THE  SCOPE  OF  PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  (Continued) ­

The  second  important  question  dealing  with  the  scope
°f  psychological  tests  is  concerned  with  their  qualitative
y alue.  How  much  can  tests  tell  us  about  an  individual?
And  how  much  importance  may  we  attach  to  the  facts
which  they  reveal?  Is  it  possible  to  say  that,  because  an
a Pplicant  passes  the  tests  for  a  certain  kind  of  work,  that
a Pplicant  will  make  good?  And  is  it  possible  to  assert,
With  equal  assurance,  that  the  reverse  will  be  true,  and
that  one  who  fails  in  the  tests  will  fail  in  the  work?  Here,
a gain,  a  distinct  limitation  must  be  immediately  admitted.
The  application  of  psychological  tests  does  not  make  it
possible  to  predict,  without  qualification,  that  a  certain
^dividual  will  succeed  at  a  certain  kind  of  work  and
that  another  will  fail.  They  only  enable  one  to  say  that
the  chances  for  success  of  a  particular  individual  or  group
ar e  better  than  the  chances  of  another.  In  brief,  psychojogical
  tests  do  not  make  it  possible  to  discover  all  that
is  desirable  to  know  about  an  individual,  or,  consequently, ­
  to  prophesy  infallibly  what  an  individual  is
bound  to  do.
In  the  first  place,  there  are  innumerable  factors  which
e nter  into  the  history  of  each  individual  which  no  method
whatsoever  can  take  cognizance  of,  and  which,  therefore,
110  method  can  control.  Every  employment  manager  is
familiar  with  the  many  reasons  other  than  the  item  failure