Aptitude-Treatment Interaction

There are countless illustrations in the social sciences of a description of a phenomenon existing for many years before it is labeled and systematized as a scientific concept. One such example is in Book II of Homer's Iliad, which presents an interesting account of the influence exerted by Agamemnon, king of Argos and commander of the Greeks in the Trojan War, on his army. In particular, Homer describes the behavior of Odysseus, a legendary king of Ithaca, and the behavior of Thersites, a commoner and rank-and-file soldier, as contrasting responses to Agamemnon's leadership and role as “the shepherd of the people.” Odysseus, Homer says, is “brilliant,” having “done excellent things by thousands,” while he describes Thersites as that “who knew within his head many words, ...