Psychological Tests, Flanagan Industrial Tests

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.

The Flanagan Industrial Tests (FIT) aimed to help employers select potential employees. The tests were developed by John C. Flanagan, who worked with the Army Air Force Aviation Psychology Program during World War II. Here, he developed tests to select “pilots, navigators, and other aircrew members.” After the War, he worked on creating aptitude tests for civilian occupations. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard and worked as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh while developing the FIT.

This collection is contained in a red envelope. It includes blank tests of: arithmetic, assembly, components, coordination, electronics, expression, ingenuity, inspection, judgment and comprehension, mathematics and reasoning, vocabulary, mechanics, memory, patterns, planning, precision, scales, and tables. Each of these tests is either Form A or Form AA. Test takers were given between five and fifteen minutes to complete each test. The collection also contains a sheet entitled “Equivalent FIT-A and FIT-AA Scores on Comparable Tests,” a sheet listing the preliminary norms for form AA, a “transparent overlay stencil” for grading, and a sheet which describes seven equivalent and updated forms to the test.

Finally, the 23-page FIT manual provides insight into the development and construction of the exam. It situates the development of the test within larger shifts in the field of psychology during the twentieth century (focusing specifically on how World War I and World War II informed the need for specialized tests of ability for classification). It also provides detailed information on the administration and scoring procedures, norms of the eighteen tests, and reliability and validity considerations. Thirteen tables provide data related to the reliability and validity considerations.

The tests were printed by the Science Research Associates.

Date Made: 1960-1965

Publisher: Science Research Assoc. Inc. Maker: Flanagan, John C.

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Illinois, Chicago

Subject: Mathematics Psychological Tests

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Ruth E. Myer

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1986.3133.04 Catalog Number: 1986.3133.04 Nonaccession Number: 1986.3133

Object Name: Psychological Tests, Set Of

Physical Description: paper (overall material) Measurements: overall: .7 cm x 25 cm x 30.8 cm; 9/32 in x 9 27/32 in x 12 1/8 in

Metadata Usage: CC0

Record Id: nmah_1213727

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.