Scott was the subject of conversation in one of my early lectures this semester teaching I/O history segment.
I/O psychologists have decidedly not removed him from their history. -- Paul Bernhardt Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD, USA On 12/16/08 12:52 AM, "Christopher D. Green" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > [email protected] wrote: >> >> I hope no one minds if I return to this now-concluded thread with a >> belated thought I've been mulling over. >> >> I see the problem with using the Myers-Briggs as a guide to pairing dorm >> roommates is not so much its uncertain scientific status (although that >> doesn't help). It's that using it to promote dorm room harmony buys into >> the unfortunately widespread belief that a non-specific psychological >> test is better than one specifically designed for a particular problem. >> > > Which is why Walter Dill Scott may be the most underestimated psychologist in > the history of the discipline. "Who?" you ask. A one-time student of Wundt, > Scott was a Northwestern business psychology prof in the early 20th century > (indeed, he practically invented the field). He made a good living developing > screening tests to identify good potential salesmen, managers, and the like. > When APA president Robert M. Yerkes decided to stake psychology's reputation > on giving intelligence tests to every American drafted into WWI, Scott quit > the APA Council and quietly consulted with another branch of the military on > the side (rather than becoming a faux-officer, like Yerkes et al.). He > designed tests to identify good potential officers, whatever combination of > intelligence and other mental virtues that might happen to entail. In the end, > history tells the sordid story of Yerkes' Alpha and Beta tests, and the > eugenic conclusions that Yerkes and others drew from the results. Scott, on > the other hand, was the only psychologist to be awarded the Distinguished > Service Medal at the end of the war (and was effectively written out of the > history of psychology textbooks for his trouble). > > See, e.g., Von Mayrhauser, R.T. (1989). Making intelligence functional: Walter > Dill Scott and applied psychological testing in World War I. Journal of the > History of the Behavioral Sciences, 25, 60-72. > > Chris --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
