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  individual’s ­
  viewpoint;  for  it  provides  a  mechanism  which
makes  it  possible  to  observe  the  new  worker  under  varying ­
  conditions  ever  a  comparatively  long  period  of  time.
One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of  the  psychological ­
  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  overcome ­
  it.  In  the  first  place,  he  leads  the  applicant  into
the  fields  of  relevant  activity;  that  is,  he  centers  his  questions ­
  and  tests  upon  those  activities  in  which  the  applicant ­
  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