Strong, Edward Kellogg, Jr. (1884–1963)

Before Interest Measurement

Strong lived in many parts of the United States during his lifetime. His father was a minister, and when Strong was a child they moved to the Midwest (Bloomington, Illinois, and Bay City, Michigan) where he developed a love for the outdoors. In 1902, the family moved to San Francisco, and Strong attended the University of California, Berkeley where he majored in biology. After college, Strong spent a year with the U.S. Forestry Service. His love for the Sierras and the outdoors was a constant throughout his life, and at the time of his retirement his score on the Strong Nature scale was one of the three highest scores on his profile (the other two were Science and Mathematics). Strong's daughter described his love for nature in a 1987 interview: “He loved his garden and his golf. He especially loved the mountains, the ocean and the desert. He knew the names of the plants and trees and was continually teaching them to us. He also knew the constellations of stars. He loved to be in the outdoors—to hike, to swim, or to fish” (Hansen, 1987, p. 121).

Strong returned to Berkeley and completed an M.A. in psychology in 1909. He then moved back to the East to attend Columbia University. As a graduate assistant working with Harry L. Hollingworth at Bernard College, Strong met an undergraduate, Margaret Hart, whom he married in 1911, the same year that he completed his Ph.D. Strong remained at Columbia until 1914 when he joined the psychology faculty at George Peabody College for Teachers in Tennessee where he published Introductory Psychology for Teachers. Strong's early career also focused on research in marketing and advertising. His research in this area resulted in several publications and the book The Psychology of Selling and Advertising published in 1925.

As was the case for many applied psychologists of Strong's generation, World War I had a direct impact on his career. He entered the military in 1917 and served on the Committee on Classification for Personnel and as a personnel specialist with duty assignments at Camp Taylor, Kentucky, and Camp Kearny, California. Strong's work with the Committee on Classification led him to appreciate the efficacy of the Army tests for predicting a person's ability to do a job and to understand the need for career guidance.

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