A comparison of certain visual factors with the efficiency of textile inspectors

Abstract

45 female operators, engaged in inspection of cones of rayon yarn, were administered a battery of 15 visual tests. Tetrachoric correlations were calculated between scores on each visual test and qualitative and quantitative criteria of success on the job. These correlations together with a few other analyses of the data led to the following conclusions: Quantitative and qualitative criteria of job performance are inversely related; inspectors who fail very few visual tests do better work but less of it, and vice-versa. Age, length of time on the job, and use of eyes away from work are unrelated to the qualitative criteria. Nine tests of vision appear to have value in appraising capacity to inspect textiles; diagnostic stereopsis, ametropia, visual acuity, accommodation, and binocular fusion are positively related to qualitative criteria; near blur point, vertical phoria, lateral phoria, and binocular fusion are positively related to the quantitative criterion. Of the 35.6% of workers who fail 3 or more visual tests, only 6.7% are above standard in job performance when qualitative and quantitative criteria are combined. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)