Walter Van Dyke Bingham (1880–1952) was an applied and industrial psychologist who made significant contributions to intelligence testing. A pioneer in applied psychology, Bingham got his start in experimental psychology, receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago under James R. Angell. [1] Bingham went from Dartmouth in 1915 to organize the Division of Applied Psychology at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. When war came to the United States, Bingham was recruited by Robert Yerkes as a member of a small group that developed the Army Alpha and Beta tests. [2] During World War I Bingham served as executive secretary of the committee on classification of personnel in the U.S. Army, and later in the war served as lieutenant colonel in the Personnel Branch of the Army General Staff. From 1940 to 1947 Bingham was chief psychologist of the Adjutant General's Office of the War Department, serving as consultant or advisor to the Surgeon General, the Army General Staff, and the Secretary of Defense. Walter Bingham's contribution on the army classification methods paved the development of the field of industrial psychology. Bingham carried out editorial responsibilities for several journals and was the author of over 200 articles and books. His "Aptitude and Aptitude Testing" (1937/1942) is a classic in the field. [1]
Walter Van Dyke Bingham was born in Swan Lake City, Iowa to Lemuel and Martha Bingham. [3] Deemed an exceptional student early on, Bingham skipped the 3rd and 4th grades, graduating high school at the age of 16. He was an industrious youth, selling enough popcorn at the train station to pay his way to Chicago's 1893 World's Fair. Upon graduating from high school, Walter took a job as a rodman on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway. His first job outside of the home was a printer's devil, inking forms for the weekly edition of the Emmet County Republican. Bingham was accepted to Beloit College in Wisconsin, graduating with honors in 1901 at the age of twenty. [4] For a time, he taught mathematics and physics at Beloit Academy and Elgin High School. Bingham went on to study at Harvard University, receiving a master's degree in 1907. [1] He continued his scholarship at both Harvard, working in Hugo Münsterberg’s lab under the direction of Edwin B. Holt, and The University of Chicago under the direction of James Angell, receiving two doctoral degrees in 1908. [5] His dissertation, entitled, “Studies in Melody and Movement” was based on vast experimentation examining the psychophysiological effects of melody on humans. Under Angell, psychology became firmly established as an empirical subject using experimental methods. [5] He developed a functionalist theory of psychological processes and mind-body relationships, specifically, the status accorded to the study of reflexive consciousness as well as physiological status. Similarly, Edwin B. Holt's Industrial/Organizational approach was also heavily based in experimentation. He looked at problems with monotony, attention and fatigue, physical and social influences on the working power, the effects of advertising, and the future development of economic psychology. [5] Each of the two men mentoring Bingham had profound influence on Bingham's career and research trajectory. After receiving his doctoral degree, Bingham took a postdoctoral position as a teacher's assistant to Edward Thorndike at Teacher's College of Columbia University. In 1915, after serving as an assistant professor at Dartmouth College, he was invited to Carnegie Institute of Technology to create a unit that would use psychology to help students with career choices. [1] While at Carnegie he embarked on his pioneering venture of using psychology as a tool to help clarify the problems of some of the large industries in the Pittsburgh area. At the same time, with the founding of a division of applied psychology, he endeavored to provide instruction for students planning careers in industrial management and other fields where success depended in some measure on the ability to understand and influence people. He hoped the instruction would enable such students to have a better understanding of human behavior. This work antedated such well-known historical developments in applied psychology as the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the army in 1917–1918 and the formation in 1919–1923 of the Scott Company, the first personnel consulting firm of applied psychologists. [3] Bingham created the Bureau of mental tests and in 1916, an umbrella organization, the Division of Applied Psychology which developed into the first organized academic/industry cooperative personnel research program.
In 1917, immediately after the United States entered the First World War, a small team of psychologists—Bingham among them—headed by Robert M. Yerkes was deployed to design group intelligence tests that could identify recruits with low intelligence and allow the Army to recognize men who were particularly well-suited for special assignments and officers’ training schools. [2] It was believed that he had a unique gift in identifying talented individuals. The final forms of the Army Alpha and Beta tests were published in January 1919, and by the end of the war they had been administered to approximately two million men. [2] Bingham spent the years after the First World War writing books and articles emphasizing the civilian applications of the testing procedures he helped develop for the Army. He believed that aptitude tests and intelligence subtest scores could be used to help businesses increase the efficiency of their workforce. [6] Further, it would help teachers and counselors direct their students and clients to careers that would make them happy. Bingham also noted that aptitude testing would be useful for identifying the types of jobs at which the developmentally disabled could be successful.
The onslaught of World War II brought a new position as Chief psychologist in the Army Adjutant General's office to Bingham. In 1940, he was appointed Chairman of the Army National Research Council on Classification of Military Personnel. His research team created a series of aptitude tests that served several purposes. Bingham believed that these aptitude tests would help the war effort through increasing American military might. [7] He asserted that the human engineering made possible by the administration of aptitude tests would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of military training programs in the same way that mechanical engineering maximizes the effectiveness of tanks, guns, and airplanes. [2] By 1941, standardized test scores had been recorded for more than a million military men. [8] His planning and consulting services to the army in World War II are acknowledged by the inscription, “architect of the classification system of the army, 1940–1947,” which appears on his headstone in Arlington National Cemetery.
Throughout his tenure with the American military, Bingham continued to hold a variety of professional roles. He remained Director of the Personnel Research Federation at Carnegie and assisted in editing the Personnel Journal which he helped found at Carnegie in 1922. [1] He served as president of the Psychological Corporation from 1926 to 1928 and was appointed professorial lecturer in psychology at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1930. Applied psychology grew in importance during and immediately following World War I, and Bingham came to hold many responsible positions. [9] As aforementioned, he served as executive secretary of the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the army in 1917–1918; he held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the personnel branch of the U.S. Army General Staff in 1918–1919; and he was the first chairman of the division of anthropology and psychology of the National Research Council in 1919–1920. In 1927 he served as the American member of the board of the International Congress of Techno-psychology. In 1942 Bingham was appointed director of the Personnel Research Foundation Inc., where for many years he carried on independent research and served as a consultant in industrial psychology. Additionally, Bingham served as president of the American Association of Applied Psychology (1937) and past secretary of the American Psychological Association (1942). [10]
As applied and industrial psychology grew in prominence, Bingham became focused on the measurement of the abilities of able and brilliant students and the early identification of the gifted. This aspect of his work was honored after his death by the American Psychological Association with the establishment of an annual lectureship in his name. The lectures have two purposes: to bring to the attention of psychologists and others the great value of accurate identification of exceptionally promising young people; and to honor psychologists and institutions working in this field.
Bingham was the author of over two hundred articles and books. He wrote on a wide variety of topics ranging from articles on tonal fusion, vocal functions, and studies in melody to such topics as the search for skill and talent in the army, skill identification and development in academia and industry, and reliability, validity, and dependability of psychological assessment tools. Two of his books, How to Interview (Bingham & Moore 1931) and Aptitudes and Aptitude Testing (1937), are classics in the field of personnel psychology and guidance. [11] Bingham's works have been widely used and his research established training in applied psychology as a respectable and common part of the curriculum at institutions of higher learning. Due in large part to Bingham, the testing movement flourished. Research in industrial psychology, guidance and counseling, and personnel psychology has proceeded to develop in many of the problem areas along the lines he suggested. Additionally, his hope that more attention would be paid to students of high ability has certainly been realized in the greatly increased research and educational activity in this area. Bingham's contribution to applied psychology transformed psychology from the academic (science) to the real world (practice). Throughout the many positions he held during his lifetime, he made a point to show those he affected that psychology could be used to tap into the ability of individuals while using this as a method to match the right people to the right career roles. [11]
Today, personnel psychology aids in the recruitment, selection, placement, psychometrics, performance appraisal, training and development and legal issues (Equal Employment Opportunity) Title VII, CRA 1991. This methodology encompasses measuring and predicting individual differences in behavior and job performance in the workplace. Research in this field is used to increase workplace productivity, select employees best suited for particular jobs, and product testing. Since the founding of the Carnegie program in 1915, Bingham's research, vision, and work have determined in large measure the directions that applied and industrial psychology have taken today.
The field of applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Some of the areas of applied psychology include: clinical psychology, counseling psychology, evolutionary psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, legal psychology, neuropsychology, occupational health psychology, human factors, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, school psychology, sports psychology, traffic psychology, community psychology, and medical psychology.
Industrial and organizational psychology (I/O) specializes in the psychology of the workforce, customer, and consumer, including issues such as the psychology of recruitment, selecting employees from an applicant pool, training, performance appraisal, job satisfaction, work motivation, work behavior, stress at work, and management. Military psychology includes research into the classification, training, and performance of soldiers and is an additional branch of I/O psychology. [12]
In 1920, Walter Bingham married Millicent Todd. Millicent Todd Bingham was the first woman to receive a doctorate in geology and geography from Harvard and later became a leading expert on Emily Dickinson. [13] She had distinguished careers in both geography and literature. Throughout the marriage, Millicent took an active interest in Bingham's work, writing Beyond Psychology after his death in 1953, in memory of her husband. [13]
Industrial and organizational psychology "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effectiveness, health, and well-being of both individuals and organizations." It is an applied discipline within psychology and is an international profession. I-O psychology is also known as occupational psychology in the United Kingdom, organisational psychology in Australia and New Zealand, and work and organizational (WO) psychology throughout Europe and Brazil. Industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology is the broader, more global term for the science and profession.
Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.
Robert Mearns Yerkes was an American psychologist, ethologist, eugenicist and primatologist best known for his work in intelligence testing and in the field of comparative psychology.
Joy Paul Guilford was an American psychologist best remembered for his psychometric study of human intelligence, including the distinction between convergent and divergent production.
Edwin Garrigues (Garry) Boring was an American experimental psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Clark University and at Harvard University, who later became one of the first historians of psychology. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Boring as the 93rd most cited psychologist of the 20th century, tied with John Dewey, Amos Tversky, and Wilhelm Wundt.
The Wonderlic Contemporary Cognitive Ability Test is an assessment used to measure the cognitive ability and problem-solving aptitude of prospective employees for a range of occupations. The test was created in 1939 by Eldon F. Wonderlic. It consists of 50 multiple choice questions to be answered in 12 minutes. The score is calculated as the number of correct answers given in the allotted time, and a score of 20 is intended to indicate average intelligence.
Quantitative psychology is a field of scientific study that focuses on the mathematical modeling, research design and methodology, and statistical analysis of psychological processes. It includes tests and other devices for measuring cognitive abilities. Quantitative psychologists develop and analyze a wide variety of research methods, including those of psychometrics, a field concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement.
Walter Dill Scott was an American psychologist and academic administrator who was one of the first applied psychologists and the 10th president of Northwestern University. He applied psychology to various business practices such as personnel selection and advertising.
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The Army General Classification Test (AGCT) has a long history that runs parallel with research and means for attempting the assessment of intelligence or other abilities.
Military psychology is a specialization within psychology that applies psychological science to promote the readiness of military members, organizations, and operations. Military psychologists provide support to the military in many ways, including through direct clinical care, consultation to military commanders, teaching others and supporting military training, and through research relevant to military operations and personnel. Military psychology as a field has been growing since the early 20th century, evidence that the demands and needs for psychological clinical and operational application is continuing to grow steadily. There are many stressors associated with military service, including exposure to high-risk training and combat. As such, psychologists are critical support components that assist military leaders in designing appropriate training programs, providing oversight to those programs, and assisting military members as they navigate the challenges of military training and their new lifestyle. Military psychology covers a wide range of fields throughout the military including operational, tactical, and occupational psychology. Gender differences between military-trained personnel who seek mental health assistance have been extensively studied. Specific examples include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with combat, or guilt and family/partner difficulties accompanying extended or frequent deployments due to separation. Clinical providers in military psychology are often focused on the treatment of stress, fatigue, and other personal readiness issues. Previous wars such as the Korean war, Vietnam war, and WW 2 provide great insight to the workings and practices of military psychology and how the practices have changed and assisted the military over the years.
Anne Anastasi was an American psychologist best known for her pioneering development of psychometrics. Her generative work, Psychological Testing, remains a classic text in which she drew attention to the individual being tested and therefore to the responsibilities of the testers. She called for them to go beyond test scores, to search the assessed individual's history to help them to better understand their own results and themselves.
John Clemans Flanagan, was a noted psychologist most known for developing the critical incident technique, which identifies and classifies behaviors associated with the success or failure of human activity. He was a pioneer of aviation psychology. During World War II Flanagan was commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941 to head an aviation psychology program that developed tests to help identify pilots suitable for combat missions.
David Klahr is an American psychologist whose research ranges across the fields of cognitive development, psychology of science, and educational psychology and has been a professor at Carnegie Mellon University since 1969. He is the Walter van Dyke Bingham Professor of Cognitive Development and Education Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the National Academy of Education, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a Charter Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, on the Governing Board of the Cognitive Development Society, a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, and the Cognitive Science Society. He was an associate editor of Developmental Psychology and has served on the editorial boards of several cognitive science journals, as well as on the National Science Foundation's subcommittee on Memory and Cognitive Processes, and the National Institutes of Health's Human Development and Aging Study Section.
Personnel psychology is a subfield of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology. Personnel psychology is the area of I-O psychology that primarily deals with the recruitment, selection and evaluation of personnel, and with other job aspects such as morale, job satisfaction, and relationships between managers and workers in the workplace. It is the field of study that concentrates on the selection and evaluation of employees; this area of psychology deals with job analysis and defines and measures job performance, performance appraisal, employment testing, employment interviews, personnel selection and employee training, and human factors and ergonomics.
The Army Alpha is a group-administered test developed by Robert Yerkes and six others in order to evaluate the many U.S. military recruits during World War I. It was first introduced in 1917 due to a demand for a systematic method of evaluating the intellectual and emotional functioning of soldiers. The test measured "verbal ability, numerical ability, ability to follow directions, and knowledge of information". Scores on the Army Alpha were used to determine a soldier's capability of serving, his job classification, and his potential for a leadership position. Soldiers who were illiterate or foreign speaking would take the Army Beta, the nonverbal equivalent of the exam.
Arthur William Kornhauser was an American industrial psychologist. He was an early researcher on topics such as labor unions and worker attitudes, and advocated a form of industrial psychology that approached problems from the workers' standpoint rather than that of management. He has been described as one of the most important early figures in industrial psychology, and is particularly remembered for his focus on worker well-being. His work was interdisciplinary, crossing the boundaries between industrial psychology and sociology and political science.
Edward Kellog Strong Jr. was a professor of Applied Psychology at Stanford University, who specialized in organizational psychology and career theory and development. Edward Strong's contributions to the field of vocational counseling and research are still evident today. He is most well known for the Strong Interest Inventory, an inventory which matches an individual with a career based on their interests and perceived abilities. He also published several books related to vocational interests and guidance, including Vocational Interests of Men and Women.
Guy Montrose Whipple was an American educational psychologist known for developing psychological tests of human intelligence and personality. His other research interests included gifted education, literacy, vocational education, and the psychology of eyewitness testimony. A 1997 article about giftedness described Whipple as "an all-but-forgotten pioneer in this field".
Harold Clyde Bingham was an American psychologist and primatologist. He spent his early career as a psychology professor, interrupting this to join the United States Army during World War I. He joined the faculty of Yale University in 1925 and studied under the supervision of Robert Yerkes. Yerkes, a psychology professor, had an interest in primates, and Bingham also entered this field. He led a 1929-30 expedition to the Belgian Congo to study gorillas in the wild. Though hampered by the size of the expedition, Bingham managed to get close to several troops of the animals and record details of their behavior. Upon his return to the United States he joined the Civil Works Administration and the Emergency Relief Administration. Bingham later worked with the National Youth Administration and, during World War II, rejoined the US Army. After the war Bingham served as a senior psychologist with the Veterans Administration.
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