Clarence Richmond Thayer papers, 1947 -- 1974
Collection context
- Creator:
- Thayer, C. R. (Clarence Richmond), 1901-1986
- Abstract:
- Clarence Richmond Thayer was a United Presbyterian Psychologist who spent his life studying and testing missionaries in attempts to predict the success of potential missionaries. Various boards and thousands of missionaries from Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA) participated in studies. The collection includes correspondence about studies as well as information about the donation of the collection to the Missionary Research Library; annotated copies of Dr. Thayer's PhD Thesis from the University of Pittsburgh; as well as records from the studies including results and data tables and the complete set of computer cards from the 1972 study.
- Extent:
- 3 linear feet (3 linear feet; 7 boxes)
- Language:
- English .
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains correspondence about studies as well as information about the donation of the collection to the Missionary Research Library; annotated copies of Dr. Thayer's PhD Thesis from the University of Pittsburgh; as well as records from the studies including results and data tables and the complete set of computer cards from the 1972 study.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Clarence Richmond Thayer was born on June 11, 1901 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Linden Public School, Peabody High School, the University of Pittsburgh, and Western Theological Seminary. He received a Master of Theology degree from the Pittsburgh-XeniamTheological Seminary. Thayer was a life-long member of the United Presbyterian denomination. He focused his life's work on the study of missionary testing. Training and preparing missionaries for the field was a costly and time-consuming job. Various missionary boards hoped to create a test that would predict the success of potential missionaries. This would allow appointments to be made on more than the evaluation of references and papers by missionary boards. The Committee on Missionary Personnel, part of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA), formed a subcommittee in 1929 to "study the aid which might be given by such tests as the intelligence, interest, emotional stability and social adjustability tests." A five-year experimental study program was designed by the subcommittee. In 1931, 1932 and 1933 a series of conferences focusing on outgoing missionaries were held by the FMCNA. During these conferences, with the aid of a local psychological examiner approximately 200 missionaries were tested. The scores from the tests were made available to the boards after the data was analyzed. Dr. Thayer used this data from the 1930s for his PhD thesis, The Relationship of Certain Psychological Test Scores to Subsequent Ratings of Missionary Field Success. The results were inconclusive. Thayer continued to test new missionaries, including conducting three major studies in 1966, 1969 and 1972. Along with an effort to re-test the original group of 200, Thayer went on to test over 4,000 further subjects. The tests were the same for each missionary – two interest tests: Strong Vocational Interest Blank and Kuder Preference Record; four personality adjustment tests: the Bell Adjustment Test, the Bernreuter Personality Inventory, the Guildford-Martin STDCR Test and the Cornell Index; and the sentence completion test by Kelly and Fiske. Dr. Thayer died on March 5, 1986 in Irwin, Pennsylvania.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
- Terms of access:
-
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
- Preferred citation:
-
Item description, MRL 12: Clarence R. Thayer papers, series #, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
- Location of this collection:
- Before you visit:
- Researchers must book an appointment at least 5 business days in advance to view special collections material in the reading room. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to one item per hour of appointment time.
- Contact:
- burke@library.columbia.edu