Psychological testing and the German labor market, 1925 to 1965.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the massive German Labor Administration used loosely standardized, pragmatic evaluations of personality to steer young people into appropriate jobs. Starting in the late 1950s, the Administration shifted to American scientific methods of trait and factor psychological testing. Behind this change lay not a change in academic psychology but a power shift in the German labor market. Originally, the Labor Administration had to appeal to employers, for whom pragmatic evaluations of personality seemed most convincing. Thanks to the Economic Miracle in the 1950s, the Administration had to gain the trust of young Germans, their parents, and the public, who, it was hoped, would be won over by science.

Characterological psychology and German political economy in the Weimar period (1919-1933).

In the mid-1920s, applied (and theoretical) psychologists in many countries turned from studying elementary abilities to studying character or personality. This article examines this shift within the offices of the German labor administration, which aimed to place all German youths in appropriate jobs. Contrary to recent works on the history of psychology, which have emphasized the importance of cultural context, this article explains the turn to characterology in terms of German industry's evolving production strategies. As German companies developed a niche in flexible production, they came to value the highly skilled worker, who needed such character qualities as reliability, diligence, and conscientiousness. The article thus argues that historical analyses of applied, and perhaps even theoretical, psychology should also consider political economy as a potentially important context.