The Washington times., 1935-04-11
PSYCHOLOGY AID
IN CHOOS|NGOF
NN|OFF|CERS
Copyright, 1895. by international
News Service)

News service)
BERLIN, April II GN.S0.-In
the frowning Prussian barracks
opposite yellow-walled Moabit
prison is located the central
''human testing station" where
German lads Of 18 to % years
of age, ambitious of graduating
from high school into army or
navy cadet life, must first face
the music.
They apply to the regimental
commander nearest their homes
for a "once-over." and he dele
gates them to the nearest "test
station" Punctually at 9 a. m.
Mondays eight young hopefulS at
any particular test branch line
UP nervously and receive a.
prompt verbal assurance that at
no stage Of the examination need
they fear anything in the nature
of unpleasant surprise. Their
minds are set at rest against the
fear of what endurances they
might be subjected to.
A colonel, a medical man and
three military psychologists COM
prise the jury that puts them
over the loops. AS the guiding
army and navy principle is
"'know your man." exhaustive
methods have been Systematically
figured out to draw into the rec.
Ords every personal kink and
every ordinary and special quail.
ity the young man, sometimes
shy and reticent, may have hid
den underneath the outer shell.
They pretty generally get it,
right down to the last detail.
Face Is Studied
For example, lots of stress is
laid on studying the face and
Its reactions to given circum-
stances. For this purpose. and
as one Of the first steps, the
applicant sits or stands before
one of the psychologists, who car
fies on a quite natural converse
tion with the boy.
Gradually a few questions that
cause the young fellow to think
are shot at him, and at one mo.
fnent he is warned that he will
receive an electric shot Of small
voltage. What he doesn't realize,
unless his ears are extraordinarily
sharp, is that q hidden movie
camera is soaking into a film
every tiny expression Of his face
from the moment he steps into
the room until he leaves. An
amazing amount Of guidance to
the applicants character and in
fer man is made available that
way, as a look at the films Of
some of these boys revealed in
the course of this correspondents
visit to the testing station"
Material Gathered
From then on, by sundry meth.
DDS teasing brain and muscle alike
and showing up the dumb and
bright spots, the testing commit
tee gathers an immense amount
of material for compilation. When
tests and observations are fin
ished on the third day, they
"know their man." all right, and
can tell any regimental com.
mander who wants to know just
how much to expect from the
applicant. If it's thumbs down,
the regimental commander hardly
ever challenges the verdict or &C.
cepts the candidate, regardless Of
who the lad may be,
The will to become an officer,
the spirit behind the will and de-
termination involved in getting
there are hidden factors sought by
the psychologists and weighed in
the scales. This quickly elimi-
mates the unwilling son of the
Longtime soldier family who before
the war inherited the sword be-
cause family tradition dictated it.
On Test
An applicant stands barefoot,
for example, on a long wooden
pole laid across the room. Steel
helmet, service kit and rifle weigh
him down and a dozen eyes EN-.
barrasS him. He is sharply or.
dered to unhook with long rod
a number of steel links attached
to a wooden platform some eight
feet away.
Aside from the difficulty of
maintaining balance on the pole,
it requires real will power and de-
termination to master that job.
Sciences latest equipment tests
also his ears, hearing, quickness
of judgment, natural talent and
natural inclinationS. On the third
afternoon he is free to go home
and await the verdict from the
regimental commander Of his