| Level | Item |
| Ref No | BPS/004/1/06/01/168 |
| Title | The Selection and Grading of Officers. |
| Date | March 1942 |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Description | Report titled 'The Selection and Grading of Officers.' (no. 14) by Philip E. Vernon.
The report is comprised of three main parts. The first part focuses on officer selection interviews. It begins by outlining the inadequacies of interviews in indicating the ideal candidate for an officer. As such, various Boards have adopted some variations on the process of interviewing their individuals, which are outlined in the report. Furthermore, the different Boards tend to use different grading systems. The report then suggests a stadardised grading scheme. The guidelines for grading according to the scheme are detailed in the report, with a grading format attached. The second part of the report focuses on the grading of cadets and junior officer candidates. The main goal of this section is to develop an adequate grading system, capable of indicating most suitable candidates. It is discussed that there are numerous opportunities to evaluate the characteristics and personality of a cadet, which poses a difficulty in systematising those. The report then suggests a grading scheme, with instructions included for reporting officers. The report scale is included in the paper. The third part of the report ptovides some general considerations for Eperimental Officer Selection Units, alongside details of various tests used by psychologists. These include Intelligence Tests, Observation Tests, Performance and Sorting, as well as Tests of Temperament. Projective tests are also discussed, whereing the tested individual is not aware of the premise of the evaluation, as well as Questionnaires and Personality Tests. The report then discusses psychiatrist's interviews, as well as military testing officer's methods of evaluation, which include mental and physical evaluations. |
| Notes | The History of Psychology Centre is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all our users. Be aware that our catalogue contains historic terminology relating to mental health which could be considered offensive. The terminology exists within the original record and has been retained to inform users on viewpoints at the time. It in no way reflects the attitudes of the cataloguers or the British Psychological Society. |
| AccessConditions | Registered Users by Appointment Only. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| Location | O16 |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of the History of Psychology Centre and Archives and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material |
| Rules | Description compiled in line with the following: ISAD (G) General International Standard Archival Description MAD3 Third Edition 2000 |
| ArchNote | Compiled by Sophie O’Reilly BPS Archivist History of Psychology Centre. |