Introduction

IN bringing up children wisely, and guiding them into suitable A educational careers and occupations, we have to take account of their personality qualities. The doctor will tell us their physical capacities and defects; school examinations and psychological tests will give us at least an approximate indication of their educational abilities, intelligence and aptitudes along special lines. But many a child with high intellectual qualifications at 11 years does not fulfil his promise in a secondary grammar school through lack of perseverance, weak academic interests, or emotional instability. Other children who are dull according to tests, or in their school work, develop into worthy members of society owing to their sound personalities. In Personnel Selection in the British Forces ¹ Dr. Parry and the writer have described the success of psychological methods of allocating recruits to jobs in the Services during the Second World War. But there were many individuals who did very much better, or less well, in some employment than had been predicted, largely because of the difficulties of making accurate personality assessments. For example, a little progress was made—but far too little—in diagnosing the men with poor morale or neurotic tendencies who were a liability to the army, or the potential leaders who would make good officers.