The Farmville Herald And Farmer Leader

Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief
How many people know which one
they ought to be? How many peo-
ple choose a vocation only to learn
too late that they missed it?
How can this be avoided before it is
too late?
A few years ago a survey indi-
cated that between 40 and 50 per-
cent of the American people are
dissatisfied with their jobs.
Psychologists, educators and in-
dustrialists realized that some-
thing had to be done else the in-
dividual and the country would
suffer.
In Virginia, state-sponsored and
private vocational guidance cen-
ters were established all over the country. Schools
instituted guidance counselors.
Today the thing has ceased to
be a fad and has become a na-
tional institution. It is estimated that
thirty to twenty million people take
psychological and aptitude tests every year.
The first guidance center in a
college for men recently opened
is open to the public at
Hampden-Sydney College. The
plan, under the sponsorship of the
Southern Presbyterian Church,
provides free counseling and test-
ing with particular attention paid
to the individual's usefulness in
the world.
To decide what type of work
Continued on Page 1

Vocational Tests

(Continued from Page 1)

best suits an individual a full two-day program of tests is administered by Dr. D. M. Allen, professor of psychology at Hampden-Sydney. Dr. Allen has had much experience in this field as he was a member of the Student Consultation Service and Veterans Administration Guidance Center, both in Norfolk.

Dr. Allen devotes about fourteen hours of intensive work on each subject. In this program a service that costs about fifty dollars in a secular center. He focuses on the individual from five different points of view and when the results are thrown together and then unscrambled, he has an excellent idea of his subject's abilities and liabilities.

The first day starts off with an interview, in which Dr. Allen learns the activities, hobbies and vocational ideas of the teen. This is followed with a vocational interest test, which brings out whether the subject is interested in mechanics, law, art or social service, to name a few of the many. Next, Dr. Allen administers an intelligence test which gives him some indication on how far the counselee can be expected to go with education. Aptitude tests end the day's probing, when a variety of tests are given related to the person's indicated interests. These show how much the individual will profit by training in a special kind of work.

Second Day

The second day of the program includes achievement tests which indicate knowledge of chosen subjects. Personality tests end up the program. In them Allen obtains knowledge about the individual initiative, sociability, impulsiveness, stability, and numerous other traits. So far he has learned the type of work a person should do but whether his personality fits him for it.

For instance, someone that likes working with people but who lacks aggressiveness should not be a salesman. Some other field concerned with human relations would be suggested.

Finally, Dr. Allen puts all the test results together, and explains his findings to the consultee. He names four or five professions or vocations that would be suitable for him, and then leaves the choice up to the individual suggesting he study literature on the various vocations.

In line with the church program, however, Dr. Allen suggests to his subject that he lets himself be guided by the service he can contribute to mankind and not how financially rewarding the choice may be.

Since the Center was opened last February, about fifty Hampden-Sydney students and forty members of the general public have availed themselves of the service.

Doctor Lawyer Indian Chief?

People learn things about themselves they never knew before at the Hampden-Sydney Guidance Center.