Psychological Tests and Selection of Computer Programmers
Thomas C. Rowan · Journal of the ACM · 1957
The personnel selection problem is important in any endeavor, especially in one requiring the services of skilled individuals.It is particularly critical in the computer programming field.Among the many reasons for this are the scarcity of potential programmers, the training required, and the rapid increase in the number of firms requiring the services of such individuals.This paper presents the problem of personnel selection, indicates some of the ways it can be attacked, and indicates some of the many difficulties which can arise in developing and administering a selection procedure.Obviously, there are many ways of establishing a selection program.Many of these--those based on intuition and unverified personal beliefs--usually do not fare well when critically analyzed.Nevertheless many curious--often fantastic--selection methods are still in use in some fields.The standard procedure for selecting technical personnel, such as computer programmers, involves the explicit, or more usually implicit, weighing of facts from the application blank and allied material, from references and from a personal interview.There is a growing awareness among persons concerned with personnel matters that psychological tests have something to offer in this connection.Personnel psychologists view this increasing popularity with ambivalence, an ambivalence which has a long history.The first extensive use of personnel tests was in World War I.During the years which followed it became quite fashionable to include psychological tests in the hiring ritual.With a few notable exceptions, the tests were oversold, extravagant claims were made about the infallibility of personnel tests, tests designed for one purpose were expected to serve another, and in general these new and somewhat enchanting devices were expected to solve all the personnel problems of the employer.As was inevitable, it gradually became obvious that personnel tests were not infallible, that they could not serve purposes for which they were not designed, and that they often increase the personnel problems of the employer instead of solving them.As one might expect, as the disenchantment increased, the use of tests decreased.The extensive use of testing in the Armed Forces in World War II along with improvements in testing theory and technology led to a revival of interest, and now--ten years later-tests are again being used everywhere and for every purpose.It is to be hoped that the situation today is somewhat healthier than formerly, that people are not looking to tests for absolute answers, and that tests are being adopted on bases other than fashion.How does one decide which test, if any, to use?One of three procedures is * Presented at the meeting of the Association, Aug.