Abstract
IN The Engineer of May 13 is an illustrated account of the new Psycho-Technical Laboratory recently erected at Viroflay, near Versailles, for testing candidates for employment on the French State Railways. The laboratory, which is under the direction of Prof. Laugier and his assistant Mile. Weinberg, is stated to be the most complete of its kind in France. The equipment includes two machines for neuro-muscular tests, an electro-cardiograph, an apparatus for vigilant attention tests, a sound-proof cabin for hearing tests, and an apparatus for testing the candidate's response to visual signals. The room in which the electrocardiograph is installed is completely darkened. The heartbeats of the candidate having been recorded on a moving band of photographic paper, a powerful light is flashed into the candidate's eyes and a loud and raucous motor-horn sounded, the test being designed to determine the heart's reaction to these sudden stimuli. Tests have been carried out for some years under temporary conditions, but they were not regarded seriously by the railway administration. It being observed that candidates rejected by Prof. Laugier prove less efficient and more prone to accident, has, however, led to the erection of the laboratory.
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A Psycho-Technical Laboratory. Nature 141, 933 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141933c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141933c0