Describes a one semester-hour self-paced laboratory section accompanying a physiological psychology course. Points out five disadvantages and three advantages, including more time and advance planning needed, active involvement of students, and increased learning and retention. (CK)

Evaluated ability of self-regulation and emotional-drive theories to explain effects of informational intervention entailing objective descriptions of experience on outcomes of coping with radiation therapy among 84 men with prostate cancer. Consistent with self-regulation theory, similarity between expectations and experience and degree of…

Multiple sense modalities can be stimulated conjointly by a physically complex item, such as a predator, and also by a physically solitary stimulus that acts on multiple receptor classes. As a prime example of this latter group, l-menthol from mint stimulates taste, smell, and several somatosensory submodalities. In 6 experiments that used a…

Reports on new theories of the stress concept. One theory maintains that stress is nonspecific and can cause a variety of diseases through exhaustion of the body. Another theory claims that stress may be caused by the production of hormones which are specific to certain psychological stimuli. (MLH)

Nonverbal creativity, here primarily referring to scientific or mathematical creativity, is considered a function of a set of psychophysiological characteristics. The most important of these, necessary and sufficient for nonverbal creativity, is seen to be a slight dominance of hippocampal or cortical inhibitory activity over reticular, or…

This report tells of the procedures and results of a psychophysical study of 28 3.8-year-old-boys from the Harlem Training Center. In spite of an experimental situation that was something of an ordeal, some meaningful data was generated. The main area investigated in this study was the evoked-response indices of temporal processing, that is, the…

This study systematically investigated the influence of direction and frequency of rocking on the activity of two-month-old infants. Of the 84 subjects, 42 were males and 42 females. They were brought to the laboratory at least 2 hours after each feeding and placed supine in a bassinet. Rocking at 60 cycles per minute resulted in a greater…

In preparing instructional materials, consideration must be given to the students' attention. Carl Hagfors has conducted a number of experiments measuring the electrodermal response simultaneously from a number of subjects viewing the same materials. When most subjects were attentive there was a large discursion of the recorder pen. When some were…

Thurstone's landmark papers on psychophysics, published in the twenties, are discussed in this presidential address to the Psychometric Society. The development of psychophysics from Thurstone to the present is presented in some detail. (JKS)

Discusses the relation between discrimination and identification performance, particularly with regard to experiments with speech and other signals used to draw a distinction between continuous and categorical perception. Offers three main arguments. (Author/RK)

Outlines how persons can lower their blood pressure and improve their general physical and psychological health through daily use of the "relaxation response." Describes a recent study on the effects of relaxation interaction on a group of corporate employees. (JG)

Argues that depression may be viewed as one of several normal affective developments of pregnancy rooted in some of the physiological events of gestation and that identification of depression during pregnancy may be difficult (but nonetheless important) because the symptoms of pregnancy and depression are confounded. (Author/ABB)

Sketches a theory of motivation from a phenomenological basis carrying it through the psychological experience to actual physical movement. The theory is based on the assumption that motives are not efficient but final causes and that the living being himself is the efficient cause of his actions. (Author/CJ)

The frequency of symptomatic autism in children with severe perceptual or intellectual handicaps is noted and early diagnosis and treatment urged to permit healthy child development. Highlighted are some common causes leading to symptomatic autism. (KW)