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and other subjects ; when a problem arises that isoutside the scope of this staff the case is referred toan appropriate specialist. A valuable feature of theinstitute’s work is what may be described as extensionwork in the field of education. A recent example ofthis is the convention entitled " Southern CaliforniaConference on Education for Family Life " heldon March 3rd at the University of Southern Californiaunder the joint auspices of the institute and the

department of education. Some of the subjects dis-cussed at round tables with the assistance of matureand well-prepared experts are : premarital examina-tions, sex education of children in the home, voluntarysterilisation, current family literature, the problemof the movies (some of the most severe critics of

Hollywood pictures are found in the close vicinity of,Hollywood), improving the divorce courts, censorship,and social hygiene. Sections on What makes person-ality attractive, Love before marriage, and The choiceof a mate were open only to college students andthose of similar age.A similar conference was held at Pomona College

in Southern California on March 17th. It is certain

that the Institute of Human Relations at Los Angelesis doing pioneer work of great significance.

TESTS FOR MOTOR DRIVERS

THE proposal in the Road Traffic Bill to establishtests of competence for drivers of motor-cars directsattention to the group of tests devised and standardisedat the National Institute of Industrial Psychology.These consist of (1) psycho-physical tests, and (2)performance tests, all selected with particular.attention to the qualities most needed in a driver.

PSYCHO-PHYSICAL TESTS

These include eight separate tests, of which theresults are recorded in a " psychographic profile,"proficiency in each test being tabulated as low,average, or good. _

Reaction time.-The examinee sits facing a small screenon a chair with an arm-rest on the right side. Convenientto his hand is placed an instrument which has three levers,worked through pressure on red, amber, or green discrespectively, by thumb, index-finger, or little finger. Atthe periphery of an imaginary circle on the screen rounddiscs of colour corresponding with those on the levers(and incidentally with the warning lights used on theroads) are thrown at irregular intervals and in unpre-dictable order. The examinee is asked to press the

appropriate lever as soon as he sees a light. This test is

designed to estimate his reaction time, choice, and distri-buted attention.

Resistance to distraction.-In the next test his duty isthe same, but an attempt is made to distract his attentionby a film shown on the screen with whose periphery heis chiefly concerned ; he is encouraged to pay no attentionto the film, but only to the incidence of the lights.

Vigilance.-In a third test he is required to pay closeattention to the film, on the details of which he will

subsequently be questioned, but at the same time torespond as quickly as possible to the lights as they appear.An ingeniously constructed machine records each

effective response, with the time, in fractions of asecond, between the exhibition of the light and theresponse. The operator at the end of each test hasonly to divide the sum of reaction times by thenumber of responses to ascertain the average for theperson tested. A wrong response, or failure torespond either through gross inadvertence or through

too feeble pressure on the disc, carries no penalty.This seemed to us a defect in an otherwise admirablyplanned test, because to let the presence of othertraffic, or the relation of a good story by a passenger,distract one’s attention from the presence of a warningred light would be a major crime on the road. Butit is easy to see that a wrong response, subsequentlycorrected, or the counting of complete failures wouldmake the average reaction time, which the test isdevised to estimate, unfairly long. Similarly, thoughcompletely missed shots at golf would have to becounted in a medal round, in a game against bogeyeach hole is taken by itself, and even completefailure at a few holes would be compatible with afirst-rate score.The film chosen as a distraction has the great

merit for its purpose of having a universal appeal-the phenomenon of a fakir and others under hypno-

FIG. t.-The comment made on these charts by the NationalInstitute of Industrial Psychology is as follows : Driver A(Dr. A) would be a good enough driver on a safe road, as the lastthree tests show. However, as his vigilance is low, his sightis poor, and he is easily distracted, he would be the sort ofdriver who would not be aware of a dangerous situation tillit was too late. As his perception of size and of spatialrelationships is low, he would be liable to mishaps when hehad to handle his vehicle in a confined space. Actually hewas one of his firm’s worst drivers.

Driver B (Dr. B) was one of his firm’s best drivers. He hashad only one accident in seven years. His equipment ofpsycho-physical qualities is not unusually good, but he ismaking the best of himself. It is unlikely that he willimprove-he is already at his best.

tism submitting cheerfully to physical insults whichwould cause unbearable discomfort to those not in ahypnotic state. Even a keen observer with a reason-ably good memory, however, might well fail to takenote of the details on which he is liable to be

questioned.Vision.-The examinee is asked to read letters of

different sizes at a standard distance.

Visual codrdination.-This, test is the familiar one forheterophoria-the alignment of red and green bars of lightseen through glasses of different colour for each eye.It is of interest that while eso- and exophoria are regardedas important, the rarer conditions of hyper- and hypo-phoria are held to have little relevance to drivingability ,

Jw1gment of spacial relationships.-In this test a tiltedwhite disc is exposed for a moment, and the examineehas to mark in successive leaves of a book of picturesof circles and ellipses which picture resembles in shape thetilted disc.

This test distinguishes the person whose stereo-scopic vision is defective.Judgment of relative size of near and distant object.-

A low screen whose width can be varied is placed near theexaminee and between him and an apparatus consistingof two vertical posts, one stationary and the .other capable

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of moving towards the stationary one along a track

graduated in linear measure. A button held in the handhas to be pressed to stop the approximation of one postto another, when the distance between them is deemedequivalent to the width of the screen. Several tests aremade at each width of screen and the average is taken.

Judgment of speeds.-Two red objects on tracks are setat different speeds so that one overtakes or passes theother at a point hidden from the observer’s view by awooden screen suitably graduated in numbers. His taskis to estimate behind what number the passing or meetingwill take place. He is allowed 12 estimates in each case.

PERFORMANCE TESTS

The driving test proper, which consists of themanipulation of the controls and steering wheel ofa stationary car, while a projector moving over a

FIG. 2.-The dotted line represents a typical route over thetrack made by a good driver; the black line is the route ofa bad driver. Even the good driver has cut one of thecorners.

model landscape throws a moving picture on thescreen, giving an illusion of actual driving.The car is fitted with unusual controls, so that all those

tested would be equally unfamiliar with their manipula-tion. There is no clutch or gear lever; the left foot isused for foot brake and the right for the accelerator. Thetrack projected on the screen can be varied by the observerat will, from a fairly straightforward run to the set ofsinuous curves depicted on Fig. 2, and these can

be taken in either direction. The road to be travelledhas a patch of grass on either side so that one who cutsthe corners too sharply is liable to find himself off the road,without " crashing " into the trees or hedges. The

steering wheel has an unusually narrow lock-i.e., a verysmall movement produces a considerable detiection indirection.Watched from behind the screen, the miniature track

projected is seen to be made of " grass " of green celluloid,and trees and bushes constructed cleverly of wisps ofstring and horsehair. The driver is allowed ample time-say 10 minutes-to accustom himself to the strangecontrols before the record of his progress is started. Thisconsists of a tracing of his course in the form of a dottedline which records his pace as well as his direction, sincethe pen produces ten dots every second. Variations inthe rate of progress therefore show in the relative distanceof the dots apart-for example, on the straight or roundcorners on the moving track.

The confidence, road behaviour, and manipulative powerof a driver are estimated from a study of his record on thetrack.

No credit is given for excessive caution-i.e.,reluctance to drive at reasonable speed on a straightroad. In fact, the difference between the rate of

progress on the straight and when cornering is oneof the points noted, the driver who has confidencein his own abilities to slow down in good time whennecessary being assessed higher than one who evidentlylacks it. Much importance is attached to propercornering, though even really good drivers are usuallyfound to have cut one or two of the many difficultcorners on the track. For the benefit of those whomay feel inclined to submit themselves to thesetests it may be added that only straightforwarddriving is required of candidates. No other vehiclesare on the road, and no unexpected emergencies,other than corners, need be anticipated. The suddenappearance on the track of a cyclist or car was at onetime part of the test, but it has been discontinuedsince the personal element on the part of the observerwho timec4its incidence could not be excluded. Sincethe test is first and foremost a comparative one,any variation of this sort would tend to invalidatethe results.

THE TESTS AS A WHOLE

A very large number of statistics would be requiredto prove definitely that the record of accidentsincurred by drivers successful in these tests is signifi-cantly less than that of those whose response wasrelatively unsatisfactory. But such evidence as hasbeen accumulated at the Institute points to thisconclusion. The psycho-physical tests appear to usto be peculiarly well fitted to their purpose, especiallythe first three tests described above. Our representa-tive, a doctor with driving experience extending over25 years, was unable to complete the road tests,being one of the very few-less than 2 per cent.-who find that nausea is induced by the attempt tofollow a track under the conditions offered. Thefactor responsible for this rare disability has notyet been ascertained. Without going so far as tosuggest that all tests of behaviour on the actual

highway, though their value is admittedly limited,should be superseded by those described above,we warmly endorse the plea made by Sir ErnestGraham-Little in the Times of April 23rd for theenlistment of the help of the industrial psychologistin planning tests suitable for mass application.

THE NEW ISOLATION HOSPITAL AT

COVENTRY

THE opening on Monday last at Coventry of a newhospital of 148 beds for the isolation of infectiousdisease is an event of interest to those engaged inhospital administration. We are indebted to themedical officer of health, Dr. Arthur Massey, for thefollowing account.The site on which the hospital stands is 1 miles

from the centre of the city ; it comprises 16 acres,while 10 further acres of adjoining land have beenreserved for future extension. The situation is openand the gentle slope gives a southerly exposure.The subsoil is of marl, clay, and sand. The build.ings have been erected to the plans which won fortheir author, Mr. Stanley Atkinson (of Messrs.

Wimperis, Simpson, and Guthrie, architects, London),