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INTELLECTUAL AND EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF THE

MEDICAL PROFESSION AS REPRESENTED IN

THE UNITED STATES ARMY

BY MARGARET V. COBB AND ROBERT M. YERKES

SUMMARY

I. Records

Records for approximately 2500 medical officers constitute the material for the statistical investigation herein reported.

II. Concerning Medical Officers

1. Intelligence. The intelligence rating of medical officers is lower than that of other arms of the service with the exception of the Dental and Veterinary Corps. It is practically the same as that of the Quartermaster Corps.

When the results of intelligence examination are considered by tests instead of for the total examination, it appears that the scores differ widely for the several arms of the service. The psychograph (curve representing measurements for eight types of test which constitute army group-examination) for medical officers differs strikingly from that for artillery officers or that for engineers. This is still true of the medical group when it is broken into specialties. The psychographs of the several special medical groups have a very obvious family resemblance.

These differences in the relative degree of development or strength of intellectual functions for the professions of medicine and engineering may prove to have vocational or educational values, or both. The importance of further research is clearly indicated.

2. Factors affecting the intelligence status of medical officers.Chief among the factors whose responsibility for the relatively low standing of medical officers has been suggested are: Age, habits of deliberateness and accuracy developed by professional training and experience, characteristics of the tests which render them easier for engineers than for medical officers, and method of military selection.

It has been shown by statistical analysis that age is significant. The military data indicate that median score of medical officers for army intelligence examination a diminishes from 277 points at 25 years to 258 at 30 years, 255 at 40 years and 223 at 50 years. Since about half of the group of medical officers in question are over 35 years of age, and 35% are above 40 years, and since also the average age of officers of other arms of the service is from 6 to 8 years less than that of medical officers, it is obvious that the relatively low intelligence rating of the medical group is partly