A Raphael 'Coffin' Observation Test, 1945-1955.

The Raphael ‘Coffin’ Observation Test is an industrial psychology test. Its working method is uncertain. It is thought to have assessed the suitability of a job candidate. It was possibly invented by Mrs Winifred Raphael, of the National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP) in the 1950s.

The NIIP was founded in 1921 by Charles Myers and Henry Welch. Myers was Director of the Cambridge Psychological Laboratory. Welch was director of a company of East India merchants. It aimed ‘to promote by systematic scientific methods a more effective application of human energy in occupational life and a correspondingly higher standard of comfort and welfare for the workers’. In the 21st century, employers commonly test potential employees to assess their suitability and competency.