author
Walter Dill Scott
1869–1955
A pioneering American psychologist, he helped bring psychology into advertising, hiring, and workplace management long before those ideas were common. He later became the 10th president of Northwestern University, where he led the school through a period of major growth.
1 Audiobook
Increasing Human Efficiency in Business A Contribution to the Psychology of Business
by Walter Dill Scott
About the author
Born in Illinois in 1869, Walter Dill Scott became one of the first psychologists to apply the field to practical business problems. After studying at Northwestern University and later in Germany under Wilhelm Wundt, he began arguing that psychology could be used to understand persuasion, advertising, and employee selection in more systematic ways.
His books and teaching helped shape early industrial and organizational psychology. During World War I, he also worked on methods for selecting military personnel, extending his interest in matching people to jobs in a more organized, evidence-based way.
Scott is also remembered as an academic leader. In 1920 he became the 10th president of Northwestern University and the first alumnus to hold that role, serving until 1939. He died in 1955, leaving a legacy that connects psychology, business, and higher education.