24

EMPLOYMENT  PSYCHOLOGY

girls  would  correspond  with  their  daily  production  or
output  of  shells.  If  it  could  be  demonstrated  that  the  best
workers  did  best  in  certain  tests,  and  that  the  poorest
workers  did  the  poorest  work  in  these  tests,  then  it  would
be  reasonable  to  assume,  subject  to  further  proof  or  disproof, ­
  that  these  tests  gave  a  reliable  indication  of  the
workers’  ability  at  inspection.  And  it  would  further  be
reasonable  to  assume  that  these  tests,  given  to  applicants
whose  ability  as  inspectors  was  an  unknown  quantity,
would  enable  the  employment  office  to  select  those  who
had  certain  qualities  necessary  for  success  at  this  work.
Only  those  applicants  who  showed  a  certain  degree  of
skill  in  these  tests  would  be  selected  for  the  type  of  work
on  which  these  tests  had  been  found  significant.  This,  in
brief,  is  the  method  of  trying  out  tests,  the  details  of  which
will  become  clear  in  the  course  of  the  experiment.
After  the  type  of  work  for  this  experiment  had  been
decided  upon,  the  next  step  was  to  make  a  careful  and  intensive ­
  study  of  the  qualifications  involved  in  doing  that
work.  The  work  of  inspecting  shells  was  done  at  a  table
like  an  upturned  shallow  box.  Upon  this  hollow  table
was  dumped  a  large  box  of  brass  shells,  not  yet  loaded,
and  all  of  exactly  the  same  kind.  The  work  of  each  girl
was  to  inspect  these  shells  and  throw  out  those  that  were
defective.  In  doing  this,  a  girl  would  first  gather  up  a
large  handful  of  shells,  as  many  as  could  be  piled  in  one
hand,  being  careful  to  have  all  of  them  pointing  in  the
same  direction.  Then  she  would  put  both  hands  around
the  shells  and  turn  them  all  up  so  as  to  expose  their  insides. ­
  She  would  then  look  down  into  every  shell  for
dents,  scratches,  stains,  and  other  very  minute  defects.
When  any  such  defect  was  discovered,  the  shell  was  skillfully ­
  extracted  from  the  pile  and  thrown  into  one  of  three