L. E. Thorndike

Árið 1904 skrifaði Thorndike greinina An Introduction to the Theory of Mental and Social Mesuraments. Thorndike var óviss um hvernig þessari fyrstu grein um sálmælingafræði yrði tekið og sendi læriföður sínum greinina með þessum skilaboðum:

"I am sending you a dreadful book which I have written, which is no end scientific but devoid of any spark of human interest. You must make all your research men read it, but never look within its covers yourself. The figures, curves, and formulate would drive you mad."