Interest as an indication of ability

Abstract

The aims of this study were (1) to determine for a group of college men the relative proportions interested in (a) things, (b) people, and (c) ideas; and (2) to discover whether interest may be considered as an indication of ability. A group of 253 male students, for whom scores on the Thorndike Intelligence Examination for High School Graduates were available, were asked to indicate on mimeographed slips their general line of interest according to the above classification. Of this group 125 voluntarily completed the Stenquist Mechanical Aptitude Test No. 1. The results show that 107 men expressed an interest in things; 94 in people; and 52 in ideas. The mean scores on the two tests given are different for these three groups, but these differences, on the whole, are shown not to be very reliable. However, they may indicate general tendencies, and probably should be considered in practical situations. A good summary of earlier work along this line and a list of references are given. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)