Muscular perceptivity as a trade test

Abstract

Athletes are superior to athletes out of training and to non-athletes, on the back and leg dynamometer and the hand dynamometer, in a task requiring the subjects to exert an equal force three times. Workers engaged in manual tasks are superior to students in a task requiring the subjects to exert (with either hand) an equal force three times on an ordinary kitchen scale. But the same task requiring the use of legs shows the student group to be superior to the manual workers. Ability in a specially constructed "thread test" appears to be significantly related to grades of students in sewing classes. "If muscular perceptivity is involved in skilled muscular work and can be tested, as our results indicate, it should be possible to devise and try out trade tests on a much more economical basis than is required by the unguided empirical method." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)