U.S. Army Intelligence Testing During World War I
by
Ameer
When the United States joined World War I, there were thousands of recruits that needed to be placed in the U.S. army. Psychologists came up with the idea of individualized intelligence tests to place recruits in the army. These tests took about 45 minutes to an hour to test one person. This all changed when in late 1917 to early 1918, Robert Yerkes and a committee of psychologists developed the Army Alpha and Army Beta tests. These tests were designed to test a large group of people at once, and were revolutionary for the time period. They also received many negative reviews about how they did not accurately measure intelligence.
THE HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING
Before World War I, the most important quality for a soldier to possess was good character. Army regulations concerning recruit eligibility, for example, were based solely on the following criteria: candidates for enlistment had to be older than eighteen and younger than thirty-five; citizens or intending to become citizens; able to read, write, and speak English; and not convicted felons, deserters, insane, or intoxicated.[1] This changed when World War I started, as the army needed to sift through recruits quickly. These recruits needed to be placed in battalions suited to their abilities on the battlefield. Robert Yerkes, a psychologist from Harvard developed the Yerkes-Bridges Point Scale of Intelligence in 1915, which would be crucial in the later development of the Army Alpha and Beta tests. This scale was made to meet the growing concern that intelligent people’s potential was being wasted on performing menial tasks. The less intelligent people, meanwhile, might be making important decisions for the army.
ARMY ALPHA AND BETA TESTS
In 1917, three years after the start of World War I, Robert Yerkes formed a group of psychologists that would make a test whose purpose was to eliminate “feeble-minded recruits.”[2] This group came to the conclusion that testing individuals one at a time would be too slow, so they developed an intelligence test A that would test a group of people. For the illiterate population of the army recruits, there was a group skill test. Both tests did not measure the amount of information they retained from their schooling. Rather, they measured their decision making skills and their capacity to follow orders. This A test would be modified into the Army Alpha test for literates, and the Army Beta test for illiterates.
If a recruit did not do well on the Alpha test, they would be instructed to take the Beta test. If they did not do any better on the Beta test, the recruit would either be sent home or personally interviewed by a psychologist.
Below is an example of two army recruits, after the initial scores of the Army Alpha tests were compiled:
John was instructed to remain seated and complete the exam, on which he would receive an A score of superior intelligence. Zeke, who perhaps had never even held a pencil before, was taken to the Beta room, where, the author noted, “illiterates and foreigners were being examined” with a pictorial exam. Faring no better on the Beta exam, Zeke was soon on his way to a personal interview with a camp psychologist.
“What is foolish about this?” the examiner asked. “A bicycle rider, being thrown from his bicycle, struck his head against a stone and was instantly killed. They picked him up and carried him to the hospital, and they do not think he will get well again.” “He should not have been riding so fast,” answered Zeke.[3]
The results of the intelligence test was categorized by the letters A, B, C, and D. The letter that the recruit earned would determine where he would be placed. For example, Zeke scored a D-, and he was permanently assigned to a labour battalion. People who received an A, however, might be assigned to an officer’s position.
BIAS
Within the Army Alpha and Beta tests, there was a certain cultural bias[4] against foreigners and African-Americans. There were many test questions that tested a recruit’s knowledge of American brand-name products, which would have put immigrants at a disadvantage. This cultural bias was also enforced by 75% of African-Americans being placed in labour units, instead of actual combat units.
REVIEWS
The Army Alpha and Beta tests, although biased, were useful in balancing the different units of service. Battalions needed to be balanced because the men had to have the same abilities. The unit population had to be the same and there had to be enough intelligent men so that the unit could get its job done. There were multiple complaints about how intelligence was not related to how well the army recruits did their jobs. One Divisional Commander was extremely irritated when his cook was given a score of D. The Commander said “He is worth his weight in gold to the military service. What do we care of his ‘intelligence’?” [5] According to the results of the tests, a man’s usefulness to the military was based on how well he did on the intelligence tests. The Divisional Commander’s view on the tests reflected many other negative opinions on the Army Alpha and Beta tests.
Sources
Footnotes
[1] Page 280 of Army Alpha, Army Brass, and the Search for Army Intelligence
[2] Page 276 of WORLD WAR ONE INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
[3] Page 236 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy: The Genesis of Military Psychology During the First World War
[4] Page 238 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy: The Genesis of Military Psychology During the First World War
[5] Page 237 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy
THE HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING
Before World War I, the most important quality for a soldier to possess was good character. Army regulations concerning recruit eligibility, for example, were based solely on the following criteria: candidates for enlistment had to be older than eighteen and younger than thirty-five; citizens or intending to become citizens; able to read, write, and speak English; and not convicted felons, deserters, insane, or intoxicated.[1] This changed when World War I started, as the army needed to sift through recruits quickly. These recruits needed to be placed in battalions suited to their abilities on the battlefield. Robert Yerkes, a psychologist from Harvard developed the Yerkes-Bridges Point Scale of Intelligence in 1915, which would be crucial in the later development of the Army Alpha and Beta tests. This scale was made to meet the growing concern that intelligent people’s potential was being wasted on performing menial tasks. The less intelligent people, meanwhile, might be making important decisions for the army.
ARMY ALPHA AND BETA TESTS
In 1917, three years after the start of World War I, Robert Yerkes formed a group of psychologists that would make a test whose purpose was to eliminate “feeble-minded recruits.”[2] This group came to the conclusion that testing individuals one at a time would be too slow, so they developed an intelligence test A that would test a group of people. For the illiterate population of the army recruits, there was a group skill test. Both tests did not measure the amount of information they retained from their schooling. Rather, they measured their decision making skills and their capacity to follow orders. This A test would be modified into the Army Alpha test for literates, and the Army Beta test for illiterates.
If a recruit did not do well on the Alpha test, they would be instructed to take the Beta test. If they did not do any better on the Beta test, the recruit would either be sent home or personally interviewed by a psychologist.
Below is an example of two army recruits, after the initial scores of the Army Alpha tests were compiled:
John was instructed to remain seated and complete the exam, on which he would receive an A score of superior intelligence. Zeke, who perhaps had never even held a pencil before, was taken to the Beta room, where, the author noted, “illiterates and foreigners were being examined” with a pictorial exam. Faring no better on the Beta exam, Zeke was soon on his way to a personal interview with a camp psychologist.
“What is foolish about this?” the examiner asked. “A bicycle rider, being thrown from his bicycle, struck his head against a stone and was instantly killed. They picked him up and carried him to the hospital, and they do not think he will get well again.” “He should not have been riding so fast,” answered Zeke.[3]
The results of the intelligence test was categorized by the letters A, B, C, and D. The letter that the recruit earned would determine where he would be placed. For example, Zeke scored a D-, and he was permanently assigned to a labour battalion. People who received an A, however, might be assigned to an officer’s position.
BIAS
Within the Army Alpha and Beta tests, there was a certain cultural bias[4] against foreigners and African-Americans. There were many test questions that tested a recruit’s knowledge of American brand-name products, which would have put immigrants at a disadvantage. This cultural bias was also enforced by 75% of African-Americans being placed in labour units, instead of actual combat units.
REVIEWS
The Army Alpha and Beta tests, although biased, were useful in balancing the different units of service. Battalions needed to be balanced because the men had to have the same abilities. The unit population had to be the same and there had to be enough intelligent men so that the unit could get its job done. There were multiple complaints about how intelligence was not related to how well the army recruits did their jobs. One Divisional Commander was extremely irritated when his cook was given a score of D. The Commander said “He is worth his weight in gold to the military service. What do we care of his ‘intelligence’?” [5] According to the results of the tests, a man’s usefulness to the military was based on how well he did on the intelligence tests. The Divisional Commander’s view on the tests reflected many other negative opinions on the Army Alpha and Beta tests.
Sources
- Carson, John. “Army Alpha, Army Brass, and the Search for Army Intelligence.” Isis, vol. 84, no. 2, 1 June 1993, JSTOR, JSTOR.
- Keene, Jennifer Diane. “Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy: The Genesis of Military Psychology During the First World War.” Taylor & Francis, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327876mp0604_3.
- Samelson, Franz. “WORLD WAR I INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY.” Wiley Online Library, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1520-6696(197707)13:3%3C274::AID-JHBS2300130308%3E3.0.CO;2-K/epdf?r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_checkout=1&purchase_referrer=www.google.com&purchase_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED_NO_CUSTOMER.
Footnotes
[1] Page 280 of Army Alpha, Army Brass, and the Search for Army Intelligence
[2] Page 276 of WORLD WAR ONE INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
[3] Page 236 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy: The Genesis of Military Psychology During the First World War
[4] Page 238 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy: The Genesis of Military Psychology During the First World War
[5] Page 237 of Intelligence and Morale in the Army of a Democracy