PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY TESTING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000500200054-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2003
• Sequence Number: 54
• Publication Date: September 29, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN

Sept,V#ig'0eV6o14iease 206 /' i1~$ $9T~ & 99654 054-6 24533
ghettos and periodically raided these vil-
lages and killed and. tortured..,thpusands
of Jews. It was necessary not only for
the Jewish citizens, but for,Wrekr rgligi-
ous, leaders, the rabbis, to keep arms in
their basements to protect themselves.
It is true we do not hear of murders of
Jews today but religious discrimination
continues to exist in Russia, During the
week of September 13, I attended a con-
ference given by the National Vigil for
Soviet Jewry and I heard with horror
and anguish the discrimination, repres-
sion and bigotry to which the Jewish
people in Russia are being subjected.
Let us join in urging Russia to extend
to the Jews the same rights and privi-
leges enjoyed by other Soviet national
and religious groups, to enable Jews to
participate once more in their cultural
traditions and in their communal In-
stitutions so that these traditions and
institutions may be enhanced and per-
petuated, to permit the local manufac-
ture, import, and distribution of religious
articles which are vital to Judaism, to
Permit. Soviet Jewry to maintain religious
and cultural bonds with Jewish com-
munities abroad, to permit Jews whose
families were ruptured by the Nazi
catyclysm to reunite with them in other
lands and to use every other possible
means to eliminate anti-Semitism in the
Soviet Union.
Let us unite in reaffirming to the So-
viets and to all nations our belief that
mankind the world over should be free
from tyranny and oppression. I am hop-
ing that before the end of the 89th Con-
gress the Members of this body, by pas-
sage of House Concurrent Resolution 177,
shall express themselves with such cer-
tainty that there can be no mistakesn
this vital Issue. ~/-; (
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONAAL-
ITY TESTING
(Mr. EDWARDS of Alabama asked
and was given permission to address the
House for 1 minute, to revise and extend
his remarks, and include extraneous
matter.)
Mr. EDWARDS of Alabama. Mr.
Speaker, many citizens of the country
are encouraged that a Special Subcom-
mittee of the House Government Op-
conno
a
ons have
erations Committee has conducted a been conveyed in some tests. And the
thorough inquiry into the matter of psy- ranking Republican member of the House
chological and Personality testing. Education and Labor Special Subcom-
And any recommendations the sub- mittee on Education has asked the Com-
committee can provide will surely be wel- missioner of Education if Federal funds
come. It seems clear that some kind of are being used to purchase politically
remedial action is needed, through legis- slanted materials used in public schools.
lation or another approach. This is a problem area which b dl
a
ogy in claiming that guesswork and statisti-
cal shotgun procedures have medical and
scientific significance."
If that is true, maybe what's really needed
to bridle the inquisitive testers is not a new
law but simply the application of a little
horsesense and elementary respect for
privacy.
There are two aspects to the growing needs the continuing and extensive
aty
problem. The first is with regard to the tention of the American people and, U.S. TRADE SURPLUS SHRINKS
testing of psychological conditions. The therefore, of the Congress, MORE BALANCE-OF-PAYMENTS
S
second has to do with tests meant for In each case in world history in which TROUBLE AHEAD
measurement of academic achievement a representative government has deterio- (Mr. CURTIS (at the request of Mr.
but which are evidently being slanted in rated into dictatorship, control of atti- DEL CLAWSON) was granted permission
a way which conveys political or ideolog- tudes of the people has been a major tool to extend his remarks at this point in
ical significance. of a power-hungry government clique, the RECORD and to include extraneous
No responsible person will quarrel with And it has been accomplished under the matter.)
the need for having either kind of test- guise of welfare or progress. And in each Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, for years,
ing. They have a proper place in educa- case the people sat by quietly at the early while the United States has been ex-
tion and in the study of psychology. stages of development of this control, un- periencing recurrent deficits in its bal-
But they must be recognized as, tools til the point of no return had been ance of payments, we could always point
which can be used for 111 purpose, either reached, with pride at our growing trade surplus.
by` Overly enthusiastic educators or a And then, of course, there is no longer It has been this trade surplus that has
Approved for Release 2003/11/04: CIA-RDP67B00446R000500200054-6
Federal bureaucracy directed by an am- any opportunity for anyone to speak out
bitious political regime. for their rights as individuals and for
Never before have the American peo- the principles of free speech and individ-
ple been subjected to such. threats to uality.
privacy by the Government itself or by Surely, this country will not permit
Government subsidized organizations. that to happen here.
We are told that wiretapping by some I include in my remarks an editorial
Government agencies is now regarded as from the Wall Street Journal of today
an accepted practice. At least one which touches on this subject.
agency is engaging in organized practice PEEPING ON THE GRAND SCALE
of various techniques to invade the pri- Psychological testing, like testing for apti-
vate lives of individuals and families. tudes, doubtless has its place and uses. But
Add to this the abuse of testing, and it is a question whether the wholesale peep-
we are faced with a situation which ing Into people's minds that Is going on in
brings us far closer to the "1984" of government, industry, and schools is desir-
George Orwell, and the "The Brave New able, necessary, or even effective.
Gorg of eAldous ll, and the Winding up a 3-month inquiry into such
Huxley. psychological and personality testing, a
We pride ourselves on being individ- House Government Operations Subcommit-
uals, and we trace our history to men tee heard pleas from a number of witnesses
and women who sought freedom from op- that congress adopt curbs against the indis-
pression of any kind. criminate use of the quizzes. It is easy to
Yet today we seem to be marching see why.
Without effective protest into a situation The committee found, among other nau-
seous examples, that employees of the
Bon- neville Power Administration being consid-
act as a "big brother" by making rules Bred for promotion were asked questions like
and setting standards from which no de- "which would you rather do: (a) kiss a per-
viation is tolerated. son of the opposite sex, or (b) experiment
News reports published this morning with new things. Choose one."
tell of a great new testing program be- It further learned that the Labor Depart-
ing undertaken by the Office of Educa- ment last year gave psychological tests to
tion. The program will not only test more than 20,000 applicants for counseling
more young people than ever before, but jobs in youth opportunity projects. The ap-
- plicants were supposed to give their reactions
Will also go into new kinds of questions, to the following kinds of statement: "Most
and there is serious doubt as to what, if people worry too much about sex," and, "I
any, limitations apply to what kinds of think Lincoln was greater than Washington."
questions may be asked of our young Moreover, thousands of schoolchildren,
people in public schools. The objectives under research projects financed by the U.S.
of this new Program are not primarily to Office of Education, have undergone psycho-
e.
1 in an m to measure academic achievement, but attitudes to testing wg sex, , relig atte font and probe family tliflife.
rather to adjust social conditions to con- Perhaps the most extraordinary ary thing
form with ideas established in the Fed- about It all 1s the docility with which candi-
eral bureaucracy. dates for Government jobs, Federal employ-
We do know that thousands of school- ees, people in industry-where testing seems
children have been asked of their atti- on the Increase-and schoolchildren tolerate
tudes toward sex, religion, and family the Intimate questioning. Especially with a
relationships. And We know that chit- tool still of dubious value.
One reason, perhaps, is that advanced by
dren Cannot be expected to do anything Dr. Karl Smith, professor of industrial psy-
but tolerate even very personal question- chology at the University of Wisconsin: "The
ing. American people have been fooled into be-
We also know that in today's political lieving that a few simple-minded true-false
climate, Government employees or pri- or multiple-choice questions can be used to
vate industry employees where Govern- to forecast the careers of their children In
Merit contracts are a big factor and ap- school and in the university and to predict
their own careers in work because of two
pliCants for Federal jobs, all submit to influences: Fear of the pseudo-quantitative,
tests in a docile manner
. mental-medical mumbo-jumbo of the pay-
It has been brought to light in the past chlatrist and clinical psychologist, and the
2 weeks that political
t
misleading propaganda of organized psychol-
ti
 App 21gs14For Release 2003/11/04CONGRESSIONAL RE
10 CORD00050USE September 29, 1965
helped to finance the individual deficit
items in our balance-of-payments ac-
count without running as large an over-
all deficit as we otherwise would have
done. one reason 'for the strength of
our trade position has been the remark-
able stability of U.S. export prices while
the export prices of foreign nations have
moved sharply upward. Recently, how-
ever, both these trends have begun to
slow down in a manner that may spell
trouble for the United States.
.International Monetary Fund reports
show that the average price of U.S. ex-
ports, which as recently as last fall stood
At 103 percent of the 1958 average, no
higher than in 1961, has lumped to 105
percent. At the same time, the export
price indexes of many other trading na-
tions seem to be leveling off. The index
covering the major industrial nations of
continental Europe, for instance, rose 4
percent between mid-1963 and mid-1964,
but has remained at 104 percent of the
195$ average since early last year.
This may account in part for the fact
that during the first 7 months of 1965,
our trade surplus as a seasonally adjusted
annual rate was $4.9 billion, or down
about $2 billion from the 1964 level. Im-
ports through July were running at an
annual rate of 12 percent above the 1964
level while exports were only 2 percent
higher.
We do not have to look very far to find
a reason for this behavior. It is no coin-
cidence that IMF figures show that liv-
In costs In many foreign nations are
climbing less sharply than they once
were wh}le, at the same time, there are
signs of a faster rise in the U.S. cost of
living. In recent years, the U.S. index
has risen about 1.2 percent annually, but
In the first half of this year, the rise has
amounted to 1.1 percent. The period of
mild annual price rises may well be over.
The rapid pace of the American econ-
omy has certainly put increasing upward
pressure on U.S. prices. Some indica-
tions of the price pressure are that our
factories are now'operating at about 90
percent of capacity and unemployment
among married men, the backbone of the
labor force, now amounts to about 2.3
percent, down sharply from the 5.1 per-
Cent. early in the current economic ex-
pansion. In addition, the prospect of in-
Creased defense spending for Vietnam
is In the wind.
There appears to be no such mounting
price pressure in the foreign countries
that compete with the United States in
world markets. There are indications
that Europe's economic expansion is
slowing down, most probably because of
restrictive, anti-inflationary government
policies.....
A recent study by the Boston Federal
Reserve Bank also indicates the U.S.
competitive position in world markets
may be getting rapidly weaker, All of
t ie/se factors pointing to a deterioration
lp;the #1.3. trade position do not neces-
sa`rii'y mean that we are going to lose our
position as world trade leader. But, as a
recent article in the Wall Street Journal
points out, the record of recent months
suggests that massive trade surpluses are
by no means guaranteed. And with the
81'inka&e of these significant surpluses,
this country's balance-of-payments
problem may become worse than it al-
ready is. Under unanimous consent, I
include the article in the August 23 edi-
tion of the Wall Street Journal, in the
RECORD at this point:
THE OUTLOOK: APPRAISAL OF CURRENT TRENDS
IN BUSINESS AND FINANCE
For years the large and growing trade Sur-
plus of the United States has been the envy
of foreign capitals. In 1964 it reached a
record $6.7 billion and, though the final total
probably won't match last year's, all signs
point to another multibillion-dollar surplus
for 1965. A singular statistic helps explain
this happy trend: The average price of U.S.
exports has remained remarkably flat In a
period when the general price movement In
world markets has been sharply upward.
Very recently, however, this picture has
begun to change-in a manner that does not
augur well for the United States. Interna-
tional Monetary Fund reports show that the
average price of U.S. exports, which as re-
cently as last fall stood at 108 percent of the
1988 average of 100, has jumped to 105; the
significance of this increase can be appreci-
ated if one considers that the export price
index, at 103 last fall, was no higher than in
1961.
At the same time, after climbing steadily
for years, the export price Indexes of many
other trading nations appear to be leveling
off. The index covering the major industrial
countries of Continental Europe, for in-
stance, has remained at 104 percent of the
1958 average since early last year; between
mid-1963 and mid-1984, in contrast, this
index climbed 4 percent.
In Japan, export prices have stood at 101
percent of the 1958 base since the start of
last year; in the previous 2 years, by com-
parison, the Japanese index climbed more
than 4 percent. At 98, Canada's export price
index is actually a point below the level at
the end of last year. Other countries where
export prices have declined in recent months
include Italy. Denmark, the Netherlands,
Norway, and Switzerland. Export prices
have remained flat, or nearly so, In the
United Kingdom, France, and West Germany.
By no coincidence, IMF figures show, liv-
ing costs In many of these nations are climb-
ing less sharply- at the very time there are
signs of a faster rise in the U.S. cost of living.
In France, where President de Gaulle has
launched an anti-inflation drive, living costs
have barely budged since the Start of the
year, In the.prevlous 12 months, by com-
parison, they increased nearly 4 percent, and
the gain was even sharper before 1984.
The living-cost pattern appears similar in
such other lands as West Germany, Italy, and
Britain, where the government has recently
taken major steps to hold down prices. In
Japan, where the Cost of living had been
rising especially swiftly, living costs actually
fell In a recent month.
The U.S. cost-of-living index, on the other
hand, has begun to move up at a faster
pace. In recent years, the U.S. index has
risen at the relatively mild rate of about
1,2 percent annually. In only the first half
of this year, however, the rise has amounted
to 1.1 percent, a gain that clearly indicates
the recent period of 1.2 percent annual
gains may be over.
The rapid pace of the American economy,
of course, has tended to put increasing
upward pressure on U.S. prices. American
factories, which a few years ago were using
less than 80 percent of their full capacity,
now are operating at about 90 percent, ac-
cording to Federal estimates. This rate, his-
tory suggests, is dangerously near the level
at which prices begin to move up swiftly.
Similar pressure on U.S. prices is indicated
by labor statistics. The rate of unemploy-
ment among married men, the backbone
of the labor force, amounts to only 2.3 per-
cent, down sharply from 5.1 percent early
in the current economic expansion. On top
of all this, the prospect of rising defense
outlays for Vietnam can only add inflation-
ary pressure.
There appears to be no such mounting price
pressure In many countries that compete
with the United States in world markets.
A recent report by New York's Chase Man-
hattan Bank states that "the tempo of Eu-
rope's economic expansion has slowed con-
alderably this year" and attributes the slow-
down to "restrictive, anti-inflationary poll-
oleo on the part of most governments."
For instance, according to the report, wage
rates in most European countries are rising
more slowly than a year ago, In France,
typically, wages climbed only 2 percent in
the first half of 1966, down from a 3.2 per-
cent gain in the like 1964 period. It also
should be noted that the Vietnam war is
placing relatively little strain on most Euro-
pean economies; Britain, In fact, recently
announced a $616 million slash in its annual
defense budget, as part of its fight against
inflation.
A study by the Boston Federal Reserve
Bank, discussed In the July Issue of the
bank's monthly business review, also in-
dicates the U.S. competitive position in
world markets maybe getting rapidly weaker,
The study, which covered some 200 types
of consumer goods, concludes that in for-
eign markets "our position has sharply de-
teriorated."
In addition to developments on the price
front, there is some increasing concern over
the make-pp of U.S. trade statistics. Studies
indicate the big surpluses of recent years
reflect more than simply sucessful competi-
tion in the world markets. They also re-
flect such factors as Government grants and
exports by U.S, companies to their foreign.
based subsidiaries. One study, which scrut-
inized the trade figures, for a recent year,
found that a $5.4 billion trade surplus melted
down to a $500 million surplus after such
factors were discounted.
To be sure, it is by no means certain that
Uncle Sam is about to lose his position as
titan of world trade. It Is not clear, for
instance, that the recent jump in U.S. ex-
port prices signals a long-term trend or
that Europe's drive, against inflation will
succeed. Nevertheless, the record of re-
cent months suggests that continuing mas-
sive trade surpluses are by no means guar-
anteed. Without such surpluses, it Is hardly
necessary to add, this country's balance-of-
payments problem, already worrisome, could
become dire.
ALFRED L. MALAnRE, Jr.
BENEFICIAL EFFECTS FLOWING
FROM SUSPENDING THE IMPORT
DUTY ON NICKEL
(Mr. SCHNEEBELI (at the request of
Mr. DEL CLAwsoN) was granted permis-
sion to extend his remarks at this point
in the RECORD and to include extraneous
matter.)
Mr. SCHNEEBELI. Mr. Speaker, it is
gratifying to report to the House an
article commenting on the beneficial ef-
fects flowing from our recent congres-
sional action in suspending the import
duty on nickel. Following House ap-
proval of this legislation, the unanimous
vote by the Senate, and the approving
signature of the President, the Canadian
exporters passed along by a price cut
the entire amount of the suspended duty
of 1994 cents per pound. This action "re-
moves the price disadvantage previously
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