Psychological Bulletin

Swan, T. H.

doi: 10.1037/h0074706pmid: N/A

A critical inspection is made of the tabulated data in Kohlschütter's work, tending to show certain unreliabilities therein.

Tinker, M. A.

doi: 10.1037/h0070709pmid: N/A

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0066160pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, Coming of Age in Samoa. A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilization by Margaret Mead . The author has written an excellent challenge to the frequently accepted belief that the common disturbances of adolescence are physiological in nature and consequently largely unavoidable.In reaching the conclusion the author spent nine months in Samoa studying primarily a group of sixty-eight girls between the ages of about eight and twenty years in three neighboring villages on the island of Tau. It is worth noting that the Samoan culture is favorable for the normal maturation of the child in no small measure because it is not a pure primitive culture but rather a mixture of the native with the Western civilization. Everyone interested in the growing child or in the efficiency of Western civilization should consider seriously the way the Samoan girl comes of age. The reviewer, however, refuses to assume responsibility for any new mental conflicts which may be precipitated by the exposure of our standardized school teachers and middle class parents to the author's facts and interpretations.

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0069242pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, Performance Tests of Intelligence by James Drever and Mary Collins (1928). The sub-title of this book, "A series of Non-Linguistic Tests for Deaf and Normal Children," explains fully its purpose. Tentative norms for hearing and deaf children are given. These are based upon only two hundred cases for each type of child. The interesting thing is, however, that there is practically no difference between deaf and hearing children. At any rate, it appears certain that the deaf child is much less retarded than has been generally supposed. The reviewer himself has tested many hundreds of deaf children with all types of tests and has always found them below the hearing norms.

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0068172pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, Aptitude Testing by C. L. Hull . With the accumulation of data from tests in various spheres of human activity it has become more and more apparent that reliable individual guidance demands much beyond what available tests offer. Improvement will come through better methods of applying present instruments of measurement and through a continuous analysis of data which will result in a clearer understanding of the basic qualities to be measured. With the abandonment of the paralyzing idea of measuring general intelligence as a goal of testing activity, there is now appearing a vigorous and healthy concentration upon the development of tests for the greatest variety of concrete aptitudes. With a few cautions the book is heartily recommended as a real help to students in the field of testing. In summary, Aptitude Testing will be found a very helpful book for anyone who is facing the problem of actually putting together a battery of tests for predictive purposes. Because of its style and use of illustrative material it is a valuable addition to the books available for classroom use.

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0068130pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, The Experience Variables by J. O. Chassell . The author has presented in private print "The Experience Variables Record," with an Explanation of the Record Inventory and Scale, a study of the Reliability of the data, a discussion of Psychogenic factors associated with certain Personality Traits, and a detailed analysis of Associations. The study is based upon the "brilliant insights and highly useful theories" of psychoanalysis, and chooses as an objective approach "the study of the remembered experiences of representative sampling of adults." The reliability findings are based upon "individual items" rather than a total test score.

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0069184pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, The Measurement of the Character and Environmental Factors Involved in Scholastic Success by Frank K. Shuttleworth (1928). Analyzing the methods of attacking the maladjustments of scholastic success, the author has chosen as his problem the "supplying additional, specialized, and effective tools, which will aid the personnel department and the administration in more adequately adjusting students to the process of higher education." The reliability measures are secured for the various items involved in each, and the author concludes statistically "while none of the original or revised predictions is very high, all are substantial and compare not unfavorably with predictions from the best mental-educational tests available."

Fernberger, Samuel W.

doi: 10.1037/h0068543pmid: N/A

Reviews the book, The Psychology of Abnormal People: With Educational Applications by J. J. B. Morgan . To the voluminous literature of abnormal psychology Professor Morgan has added another title, a book which, as the subtitle suggests, is on the text-book level. To attempt, in one volume, to present criteria of normality, to outline the scientific method of approach, to cover certain facts of normal psychology, and then to discuss all the various phases options of abnormal phases of behavior, one cannot fail to appreciate the important function of early training by both parents and teachers in the proper development of a normal emotional life, of a fully adjusted personality.