ABSTRACT

In reviewing the historical antecedents of personnel selection and classification (S&q technology, one could argue that the selection domain would have advanced (but perhaps not as quickly) whether or not military psychologists had taken an interest in it. The same could probably not be said for classificationthe process of allocating applicants to jobs based on differences in the utility of alternative assignments (Zedeck & Cascio, 1984). From very early on, the U.S. military has sponsored research on the topic because it offered a means to improve the quality of initial assignments and there was sufficient opportunity to collect data to implement a credible system. Without the efforts of some early pioneers-Brogden, Horst, Ward, Votaw, Cronbach, Thorndike, and more recently Nord, Sorensen, Schmidt, Hunter, Ziedner, and Johnson-the area would not be nearly so advanced as we find it today.