Personnel Selection in the British Forces
- Author:
Philip E. Vernon and John B. Parry. University
of London Press. 1949.
Psychological work in the Services, during World War II, attracted a good deal of public attention. Indeed it rapidly acquired for itself a Magical status. On the one hand a small band of relatively obscure people was added to the list of cultural scapegoats, whose machinations could be cited as excuses for failure to secure promotion, or who, if sufficiently propitiated by offerings of suitable symptoms, could easily be hoodwinked into Providing a ticket for civvy street. On the other hand, it was predicted that the wholesale application ?f service methods to civilian life, in industry, education, and mental health, would solve many of our society’s most difficult problems. Surrounded both by irrational hostility and equally irrational enthusiasm, the application of psychological techniques to service problems has suffered badly r?m the lack of authoritative and sober scientific appreciation. The present work by Vernon and rarry should do a great deal to redress the balance So far as the field of personnel selection is concerned.
It is a welcome feature of the book that it covers the work of all the Services. It is doubtful if any?ne is as well qualified for this task as is Professor Vemon, both because of his very wide previous experience, and because he enjoyed the unique Position of acting in consultant roles to two of the hree services. The book is in two parts. In fart I, after an historical introduction, there are ?ur chapters covering the organization and general Procedures employed in ” Personnel Selection in the 2?yal Navy”, ” Other Rank Selection in the ^rrny anci a.T.S.”, ” Army Officer Selection “, . nd ” Selection in the Royal Air Force Part II s devoted to a discussion of the general principles of ocational psychology, and to a thorough review the main instruments it uses?biographical questionnaires, interviews, and the various kinds of ests. Scope and limitations, our present knowledge the reliability and validity of the main techniques nd their more important variants, are clearly et out, and ably discussed. Other pleasing features J”e the abstracts, short, but eminently readable, t ich precede each chapter ; the appendix of sts and their characteristics ; the valuable biblioTh*y anc* exce^ent subject index.
Throughout, an attempt is made to keep in view Previous knowledge, war-time developments, and Possible future applications. This attempt to cover rnuch ground does, of course, have its drawbacks. PeciaUsts in one or other of the fields described may Oft;’ as reyiewer does, with regard to Army effi ^Cr Selection, that even the astonishingly ‘ucient survey made, fails to do justice to the wealth fHaterial with which they had first-hand contact, i d Perhaps more important, to the underlying implications of their work. But this is scarcely a gitimate grievance. The authors have succeeded co proc*ucinS a guide-book of truly encyclopaedic s-mPass and of great merit. It is both comprehene aud concise, lucid and terse, as well as stimulatfa^ loss of objectivity. Its usefulness goes t}/ oeyond a mere description of what was done in e war and students of vocational psychology in this country are likely to regard it as the standard work for many years to come.
It is a truism that adequate vocational adjustment is a pre-requisite both of efficient social effort and of individual health. What contributions toward these aims can we expect from the powerful psychological technology growing in our midst ? Can we prevent its misuse as an instrument of subtle coercion in the hands of powerful groups ? Already our industrial society is becoming aware of a number of hitherto unsuspected and potentially dangerous concomitants of its growth toward the Welfare State. It could be, that the emergence of “human engineering” is also a symptom of approaching doom?the unrecognized doom which closes round those who fail to perceive the shift in values implied in translating ” the psychological guidance of individuals ” into ” the classification of personnelAs always, the only remedy is vigilance and understanding, on the part of both the public and psychologists. The primary understanding required is that of insight into human motives, and into the workings of a society based on the concept of ordered freedom, with its implications of a balance between equality and variety of opportunity, and an adequate freedom of choice for the individual. Vernon and Parry sense the dangers, and say a number of important and courageous things, but the issues are so grave and go so deep, that this aspect of applied psychology deserves a much wider and more prolonged discussion than it has yet received. B.S.M.
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