A laboratory method that became a test
Kraepelin only meant to analyse the work process in the laboratory, not to build a personality test. That came later, in Japan.2
Add up the forces behind one curve
Kraepelin treated the curve as the sum of positive effects (the drive to act) and negative ones (fatigue).5 Japanese researchers later tried to verify his proposed work factors: Übung, Gewöhnung, Ermüdung, Antrieb and Anregung.4 Switch them on and off.
Add each pair, type the last digit
A compressed version of the Japanese procedure. Figures from 3 to 9 run in rows, you move to a new row at a fixed interval, and a pause separates two halves.2 Here you type only the last digit of each sum, so 7 + 8 gives 5.
The real test uses 15-minute halves after 2 minutes of practice, a 5-minute pause, and one-minute rows.2,6 Here there are four 15-second rows per half and a 15-second pause, so treat the curve as a demonstration, not a diagnosis. Nothing leaves your browser.
Two national afterlives
References
- [1]Emil Kraepelin and experimental psychology (book chapter). Springer.link.springer.com
- [2]Kuraishi, S., Kato, M., & Tsujioka, B. (1957). Development of the "Uchida-Kraepelin Psychodiagnostic Test" in Japan. Psychologia, 1, 104–109. J-STAGE (PDF).jstage.jst.go.jp
- [3]Allik, J. (2016). Why was Emil Kraepelin not recognized as a psychologist? TRAMES, 20(4), 369–391 (PDF).kirj.ee
- [4]Factorial studies on the work curve of the Uchida-Kraepelin Psychodiagnostic Test. Japanese Journal of Psychology, 31(2), 103. J-STAGE.jstage.jst.go.jp
- [5]Evaluation of the Uchida-Kraepelin psycho-diagnostic test based on addition work from the view of the Big Five. ResearchGate.researchgate.net
- [6]Uchida-Kraepelin psychological test: methods. Ice Cream Tutor.icecreamtutor.com
- [7]A factorial study of the Uchida-Kraepelin Psychodiagnostic Test. Japanese Journal of Psychology, 43(4), 176. J-STAGE.jstage.jst.go.jp
Related historical tests
Bourdon also turned a simple repeated act into a trace of attention over time. His target-letter cancellation became the other great family of work-sample tests.
Kraepelin began his experimental work under Wundt in Leipzig, and the two were lifelong friends. The work curve applied that experimental style to long sessions of mental work.
Cattell took Wundt's methods towards single measurements of individual differences. Kraepelin looked at change within a single long session.
The d2 also moves people to a new row at a fixed interval and reads performance row by row, an arrangement close to the Uchida-Kraepelin sheet.
Binet and Henri argued for testing higher faculties such as memory and comprehension. Kraepelin kept the task simple and studied the shape of effort instead.