Review of Vocational Psychology

Abstract

Reviews the book, Vocational Psychology, Its Problems and Methods by H. L. Hollingworth (1916). The present volume is an attempt to determine definitely the problems which vocational psychology must attempt to solve, to summarize the present existing methods and the body of fact already acquired, and finally to evaluate the methods and to point out which of them appear to be the more fruitful. The author first discusses the historical background for the science of vocational psychology and in this connection he most severely criticizes the alleged science of physiognomy which has recently been revived. The author then discusses the experiments which have been conducted in an effort to obtain a very careful, complete and detailed picture of the mental processes of men who have achieved marked success in their chosen professions. The case of Henri Poincaré, the eminent mathematician and philosopher, is given in great detail and the results indicate that this is a very fruitful line of investigation. The author considers next the question of specialized vocational tests and methods. The author also discusses the method of the judgments regarding an individual's traits of character as passed by his associates. The reviewer notes that overall, the book contains a gratifyingly large number of summaries of experimental studies in which the results are given in great detail. A classified bibliography and an appendix of tests and test-blanks are included, which should be of interest to both the technical reader and to the layman. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)