Johnson O'Connor
Encyclopedia
Johnson O'Connor was an American
psychometrician, researcher, and educator. He is most remembered as a pioneer in the study of aptitude
testing and as an advocate for the importance of vocabulary
.
, while his father was an attorney who at one time officed with the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow
. O'Connor received a progressive primary and secondary education with John Dewey
at Dewey's famous University of Chicago Laboratory School. He was graduated from Harvard University
in 1913 with a degree in Philosophy. After graduation he conducted research in astronomical mathematics under famed astronomer Percival Lowell
, brother of the poet Amy Lowell
and worked in electrical engineering at American Steel and Wire
and General Electric
.
This organization evolved into the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, a non-profit organization with branches in several major U.S. cities.
In addition to gathering data on skills specific to various vocations, O’Connor also gathered various general data on his subjects. After establishing the link between specific aptitudes and performance in certain positions, O’Connor decided to take a second look at his data and see if there were any aptitudes which were more important than others in determining general success and advancement. It was during the course of this testing that O’Connor stumbled upon an unexpected discovery: A person’s vocabulary level was the best single measure for predicting occupational success in every area. Furthermore, vocabulary is not innate, and can be acquired by everybody. Because acquisition of vocabulary was not, in O'Connor's view, determined by innate aptitudes, it became a major focus of his later writings. O'Connor considered vocabulary augmentation a major key to unlocking human potential. His later research included an effort to catalogue the most important words for English-speaking people to know and to order these words by difficulty. O’Connor used his findings to improve vocabulary in American students. By first isolating a student’s vocabulary level through a carefully researched multiple choice diagnostic test, O' Connor believed that students could enter a vocabulary program of study that matches their skill level. It is at this level, and just beyond, where learning is most efficient. Some educators have attempted to create a vocabulary-building curriculum based on O'Connor's research, such efforts include WordSmart's vocabulary acquisition software. O'Connor himself dedicated several books to the topic of learning vocabulary including: "The Johnson O'Connor English Vocabulary Builder" and "The Johnson O'Connor Science Vocabulary Builder" as well as the "Ginn Vocabulary Building Program" which he co-authored.
The final years of O'Connor's life were spent researching, lecturing, and writing about human aptitudes and ways for people to maximize their mental potential. On these subjects he authored numerous books, including "Structural Visualization", "The Unique Individual", and "Psychometrics." He also devoted much of his later research to studying vocabulary and the processes by which people acquired word knowledge. O'Connor died in Mexico City, D.F., in July of 1973 and is buried beside his wife, the architect Eleanor Manning O'Connor
, in Newport Beach, California
. He was survived by his engineer son, Chadwell O'Connor
, an Academy Award winner who designed the O'Connor Fluid-Head camera tripod.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychometrician, researcher, and educator. He is most remembered as a pioneer in the study of aptitude
Aptitude
An aptitude is an innate component of a competency to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Aptitudes may be physical or mental...
testing and as an advocate for the importance of vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
.
Early life and education
O’Connor came from a prosperous and well-rooted Chicago family. His parents were John O’Connor and Nelie Johnson O’Connor. O'Connor's mother descended from relatives who were among the first Puritan settlers of MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, while his father was an attorney who at one time officed with the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
. O'Connor received a progressive primary and secondary education with John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
at Dewey's famous University of Chicago Laboratory School. He was graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1913 with a degree in Philosophy. After graduation he conducted research in astronomical mathematics under famed astronomer Percival Lowell
Percival Lowell
Percival Lawrence Lowell was a businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death...
, brother of the poet Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell
Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
and worked in electrical engineering at American Steel and Wire
AK Steel Holding
AK Steel Corporation is an American steel company whose predecessor, Armco, was founded in 1899 in Middletown, Ohio. Today, the company's corporate headquarters is situated in West Chester, Ohio, after having moved from Middletown, Ohio, in August 2007.- Products :AK Steel's main products are...
and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
.
Aptitude research at General Electric
In a visionary experiment, the General Electric leadership decided that if employees could be matched to positions that best suited their natural abilities and retrained in those areas, it would benefit both company and employees. In 1922 F.P. Cox of GE asked O’Connor to develop an in-house program called the "human" engineering project that would find the proper positioning for each employee and retrain them within that field. This led O’Connor into a study of inborn aptitudes and to the development of aptitude tests that he called "work samples." Using empirical research, O'Connor developed classifications for specific human abilities, to which he gave labels such as "Graphoria," "Ideaphoria," and "Structural Visualization." O’Connor became one of the first researchers to offer documentation that aptitudes are in fact innate. For example, one who is mathematically inclined can learn much more quickly and easily about mathematics than can one whose aptitudes in this area are low. Similarly, if one were to take two groups, one that possessed a high aptitude for finger dexterity and one that did not, with practice, both groups performance would improve, but the group that possessed the higher aptitude would continue to outperform the other despite identical training.Later research
O'Connor sought to expand his efforts in researching human aptitudes and in 1930 he founded the Human Engineering Laboratory at Stevens Institute of TechnologyStevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
This organization evolved into the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, a non-profit organization with branches in several major U.S. cities.
In addition to gathering data on skills specific to various vocations, O’Connor also gathered various general data on his subjects. After establishing the link between specific aptitudes and performance in certain positions, O’Connor decided to take a second look at his data and see if there were any aptitudes which were more important than others in determining general success and advancement. It was during the course of this testing that O’Connor stumbled upon an unexpected discovery: A person’s vocabulary level was the best single measure for predicting occupational success in every area. Furthermore, vocabulary is not innate, and can be acquired by everybody. Because acquisition of vocabulary was not, in O'Connor's view, determined by innate aptitudes, it became a major focus of his later writings. O'Connor considered vocabulary augmentation a major key to unlocking human potential. His later research included an effort to catalogue the most important words for English-speaking people to know and to order these words by difficulty. O’Connor used his findings to improve vocabulary in American students. By first isolating a student’s vocabulary level through a carefully researched multiple choice diagnostic test, O' Connor believed that students could enter a vocabulary program of study that matches their skill level. It is at this level, and just beyond, where learning is most efficient. Some educators have attempted to create a vocabulary-building curriculum based on O'Connor's research, such efforts include WordSmart's vocabulary acquisition software. O'Connor himself dedicated several books to the topic of learning vocabulary including: "The Johnson O'Connor English Vocabulary Builder" and "The Johnson O'Connor Science Vocabulary Builder" as well as the "Ginn Vocabulary Building Program" which he co-authored.
The final years of O'Connor's life were spent researching, lecturing, and writing about human aptitudes and ways for people to maximize their mental potential. On these subjects he authored numerous books, including "Structural Visualization", "The Unique Individual", and "Psychometrics." He also devoted much of his later research to studying vocabulary and the processes by which people acquired word knowledge. O'Connor died in Mexico City, D.F., in July of 1973 and is buried beside his wife, the architect Eleanor Manning O'Connor
Eleanor Manning O'Connor
Eleanor Manning O'Connor was an American architect and educator passionate about the creation of decent public housing for all.-Early life and education:...
, in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
. He was survived by his engineer son, Chadwell O'Connor
Chadwell O'Connor
Chad O'Connor redirects here.Chadwell O'Connor was an American inventor and steam engine enthusiast. He is most remembered as the inventor of the fluid-damped camera head, an achievement for which he won an Academy Award in 1992.-Early life and education:Chadwell O'Connor came from a distinguished...
, an Academy Award winner who designed the O'Connor Fluid-Head camera tripod.
Writings
- Born That Way, 1928
- Psychometrics, 1934
- Too Many Aptitude Woman, 1941
- Ideaphoria, 1945
- Aptitudes and Languages, 1944
- Structural Visualization, 1948
- The Unique Individual, 1948
- English Vocabulary Builder, 1948