The Making of Professional Psychological Selection in the 1920s' Red Army

The Making of Professional Psychological Selection in the 1920s' Red Army


Obraztsov I.V.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., the Department of Sociology, Head of Sociological Laboratory, Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow, Russia igorobraztsov@rambler.ru

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For citation:

Obraztsov I.V. The Making of Professional Psychological Selection in the 1920s' Red Army. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2020. No 5. P. 126-137




Abstract

The article describes the problem of formation and development of professional psychological selection in the USSR in the 1920s. The most systematic and significant aspect of this work was carried out in the ranks of the Red Army. A number of events and scientific data based on the analysis of periodicals, small circulation literature and archival materials of the post-revolutionary period are introduced into academic use. They are related to the mass survey, selection and distribution of military contingents and candidates for entering military schools. Experience and prospects of using psychological methods in sociology, in particular, test methods, are examined. The article continues a series of publications by the author about empirical research in the Red Army in the 1920s


Keywords
professional psychological selection; the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army; test methods; USSR; 1920s.

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Content No 5, 2020