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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 modifica 
tion, 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