Walter Dill Scott: Biography and Contributions

Walter Dill Scott was an American psychologist, pioneer in the application of psychology in the industrial field. It revolutionized the practices of personnel selection and advertising at the beginning of the 20th century. He studied in Germany with Wilhem Wundt at the University of Leipzig, who was one of the founding figures of modern psychology.

Scott was head of the department of psychology at Northwestern University in Illinois, and taught courses in applied psychology and advertising at the School of Commerce. Wrote the book The psychology of advertising, theory and practice in 1903

Walter D. Scott revolutionized standardized selection processes

He became interested in the scientific application of psychology in industrial practices and common problems in business. He developed standardized tests to measure the skills his clients sought for their employees, forever changing the methods of selection in the industries.

Biography

Walter Dill Scott was born on May 1, 1869 in the state of Illinois, in the Midwest region of the United States. He comes from a family of farmers, in which he and his four brothers had to support the work. He studied in the schools of his rural town and obtained a scholarship for his university education.

He studied at the University of the Northwest, in Illinois, and managed to complete his expenses by giving tutorials to his classmates. His interest lay in theology, so he graduated in studies of the Divine. He planned to preside over a university in China, but as it was not possible he chose to go to Leipzig in Germany.

The influence of Wilhelm Wundt

He studied and worked with Wilhem Wundt, one of the first academics of modern psychology; Wundt was the one who prosecuted psychology on the path of science by separating it from philosophy. This was a great influence for Scott in his future work.

After returning from his stay with Wundt, Scott was elected professor and successively head of the Department of Psychology at the Northwest University. In the same way he ventured into the teaching of applied psychology and the psychology of advertising. He wrote two books on this last subject, which was still in its early stage at that time.

Innovation in the methods of selection

A decisive turn in his career was when he went from explaining theoretically the psychological elements found in advertising, to taking them to the practical level to conceive sales much more effective. Thanks to this, he was extensively instructed in the selection methods to obtain the necessary personnel for certain tasks.

During the First World War, Scott and many of his academic colleagues decided to offer their services to the country. He asked to be allowed to implement his selection knowledge to elect officers scientifically; The first tests were a success and the method was used for the selection of more members of the Navy.

He was awarded the medal for distinguished service of the army in 1919 and for his innovative contributions was elected president of the American Psychological Association that same year. In 1920 he founded his own company for the selection of industrial personnel, which was an immediate success.

As president of the Northwest University

He was named president of the University of the Northwest in 1921 and during his period this greatly improved his finances. In addition, Scott inaugurated the schools of Journalism and Speech. It optimized campus administration, converting its Alma mater in a self-sufficient and prestigious private school.

He lived in Illinois with his wife for the rest of his life, where he continued working at the university and became editor of his textbooks. Walter Dill Scott died on September 23, 1955 of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 86 years.

Contributions

Walter D. Scott revolutionized the methods of applied psychology in the industrial field of advertising when this was just a novel practice.

With his knowledge of standardized psychology -influence of Wundt- he developed an effective system of personnel selection, changing the processes of recruitment in institutions forever.

Applied psychology in advertising

In his first forays into advertising through psychology, Scott focused on applying his knowledge of the subject to business, not to explain it theoretically, as was customary by academics of the time.

Unlike other academics who studied the visual components of advertising (color, iconography, typography), Scott went further and took into account the psychological aspects, such as the beliefs and aspirations of the public that was expected to reach.

He also postulated that the persuasion of the client is irrational, since it is measured in desires and not needs.

Another of his important contributions was in the physical sphere of advertising, since he implemented the use of statistics and hard data to find what the client wants through surveys. For example, it was discovered that rectangular figures are much more effective than square ones in obtaining customer attention.

Innovation in the field of personnel selection

After obtaining extensive experience performing standardized tests for the advertising industry, Scott applied his knowledge to the selection of American officers in the First World War. The success was such that his method was implemented for the selection of bodies and complete brigades with specific tasks.

The standardized selection was born as we know it today. With its quantitative method, it was possible to choose the officers and corporals more apt for different tasks, making strategy and combat much more effective. Such was the success that Scott would take his knowledge back to the trade.

He founded his own company with offices in Chicago and Philadelphia; in its first year it offered services to more than 40 different industries and businesses. Their standardized tests improved the management of the companies and, as a consequence, this was an improvement for the fulfillment of goals.

The revolutionary contributions of Walter Dill Scott are currently reviewed by professionals in industrial psychology, advertising and quantitative psychology theorists.

References

1. Ad Age (2003) Scott, Walter Dill (1869-1955) AdAge Encyclopedia of Advertising. Recovered from adage.com
2. Kneessi, D. (2004) Bioscopes: Walter Dill Scott. Psychography Retrieved from faculty.frostburg.edu
3. Lynch, E. (1968) Walter Dill Scott: Pioneer Industrial Psychologist. The Business History Review (42; 02) pp. 149-170. Retrieved from hbr.org
4. Northwestern University Archives (s.f.) Walter Dill Scott. The Presidents of Northwestern. Retrieved from library.northwester.edu
5. Study (s.f.) Industrial-organizational psychology: History, movement & Walter Dill Scott. Psychology courses. Retrieved from study.com