WALTER DILL SCOTT: BIOGRAPHY AND CONTRIBUTIONS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

Walter Dill Scott was an American psychologist, pioneer in the application of psychology in the industrial field. It revolutionized recruiting practices and advertising in the early 1900s. He studied in Germany alongside Wilhelm 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. He wrote the book The Psychology of Advertising, Theory and Practice in 1903.

Walter D. Scott revolutionized standardized selection processes

He was widely 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 across 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 in the work. He studied in the schools of his rural town and obtained a scholarship for his university education.

He studied at Northwestern University, Illinois, and managed to complete his expenses by tutoring his classmates.

His interest was in theology, for which he graduated in studies of the Godhead. He planned to preside over a university in China, but when it was not possible he chose to go to Leipzig in Germany.

The influence of Wilhelm Wundt

He studied and worked alongside Wilhem Wundt, one of the first scholars of modern psychology; Wundt was the one who put psychology down the path of science by separating it from philosophy. This was a great influence on Scott in his future works.

After returning from his stay with Wundt, Scott was elected professor and successively head of the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University.

In the same way he ventured into the teaching of applied psychology and the psychology of advertising. She wrote two books on the latter subject, which was still in its early stage at the time.

Innovation in selection methods

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

During World War I, Scott and many of his academic colleagues decided to serve the country. He asked to be allowed to use his knowledge of selection to select officers scientifically; the first tests were successful and the method was used for the selection of more members of the army.

He was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1919, and for his groundbreaking contributions he was elected President of the American Psychological Association that same year. In 1920 he founded his own industrial recruiting company, which was an immediate success.

As president of Northwestern University

He was appointed president of the Northwestern University in 1921 and during his term his finances notably improved.

In addition, Scott inaugurated the schools of Journalism and Speech. He streamlined campus administration, turning his alma mater into a prestigious, self-sufficient private school.

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

Contributions

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

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

Applied Psychology in Advertising

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

Unlike other scholars 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 audience he was hoping to reach.

He also postulated that customer persuasion is irrational, since it is measured in wants and not needs.

Another of his important contributions was in the physical field of advertising, since he implemented the use of statistics and hard data to find what the customer wants through surveys.

For example, rectangular shapes were found to be much more effective than square shapes in getting customer attention.

Innovation in the field of personnel selection

Gaining extensive experience performing standardized tests for the advertising industry, Scott applied his knowledge to the selection of American officers in World War I. The success was such that his method was implemented for the selection of corps and entire brigades with specific tasks.

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

He founded his own company with offices in Chicago and Philadelphia; In its first year, it served 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 achievement of goals.

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

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. Recovered from faculty.frostburg.edu
3. Lynch, E. (1968) Walter Dill Scott: Pioneer Industrial Psychologist. The Business History Review (42; 02) pp. 149-170. Recovered from hbr.org
4. Northwestern University Archives (sf) Walter Dill Scott. The Presidents of Northwestern. Recovered from library.northwester.edu
5. Study (sf) Industrial-organizational psychology: History, movement & Walter Dill Scott. Psychology courses. Recovered from study.com