ABSTRACT
Perhaps the single most important contribution American psychology has made to the Western world is the pragmatic approach to understanding and predicting behavior. As in other sciences, Americans have not been consistently superior in developing psychological theories, but they have excelled in applying and evaluating theories and procedures. A major contribution of American psychologists to organizational functioning and effectiveness has been the development and application of measurement procedures for evaluating the validity and usefulness of staffing programs. It has been this concern for the careful evaluation of staffing procedures-to actually test whether they work-that has characterized the field and made it useful to business and industry.
