United States Army mental testing program: hundreds of psychologists examined nearly two million men

Design · All designs
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 3 studies (1 review, 1 associational, 1 theoretical), q1–q2 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

The review describes the program of psychological examining in the United States Army during the recent war, conducted under the Surgeon General's Office. As printed, "Hundreds of psychologists were engaged in the service and nearly two million men were examined." The reviewed volume, edited by R. M. Yerkes in the Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. XV, 1921, 890 pp.), is divided into three parts under Yerkes, Terman and Boring, with Part I covering the history and organization of the service.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• The service was organized as part of the military establishment under the direction of the Surgeon General's Office.

Constraints

Target Learners

• United States army personnel examined during the war

Learning Goals

• mental measurement and examination at large scale

Claims

• Army mental tests demonstrated their value in selecting men for officers' training schools and other service lines requiring special ability [+W]
• School and college continuance rise steeply with Army Alpha level among World War recruits [+W]
• Wartime army psychological testing of recruits stimulated popular interest in mental measurements and created a favorable opportunity to extend their use in education. [+W]

Related Designs

Examples

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Key Sources

• Rugg, E. (1921). New Publications in Educational Psychology and Related Fields of Education. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	army-mental-tests-program-1921-volume
title	United States Army mental testing program: hundreds of psychologists examined nearly two million men
description	The review describes the program of psychological examining in the United States Army during the recent war, conducted under the Surgeon General's Office.
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-24
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — rugg-1921

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