Psychotechnics in Czechoslovakia
At the beginning of the 20th century, psychotechnics underwent rapid development
in the United States and Germany. Czech psychotechnics began in 1920, when the
Psychotechnical Institute (Psychotechnický ústav) in Prague was founded within the
framework of the Masaryk Academy of Labor. The aim was research on the efficiency
of human physical and mental labor and the application of research findings. It served
as a central and steering institution for the whole republic. The increasing range of responsibilities
led to changes in the title: in 1932 to the Central Psychotechnical Institute
(Ústřední psychotechnický ústav), in 1938 to the Institute of Human Work (Ústav
lidské práce), in 1947 to the Czechoslovak Institute of Work (Československý ústav
práce) with a branch in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 1951, the institute was liquidated by
government decree.