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Human behaviour—Towards a practical understanding
326
BOOK REVIEWS
The early chapters of the book provide a useful review of developments in theortes of attentton and processtn! resources. the aim being to introduce the constructs in terms of which the effects of arousal on attention dre to be dtscussed tn subsequent sections. Chapter 4. dealing with theories of arousal and performance. makes it clear that the effects of stress cannot be viewed in terms of the umtary ‘inverted-U’ model. The anomalous findings have long been apparent and led Broadbent in 1971 to speculate on the need to specify two or more partially-Independent systems. Unfortunately Eysenck does not indicate a clear development of this view. Later chapters are concerned with incentives and motivation, and anxiety and performance. whtch have recetved less attention from information-processing theorists. Here the author provides a clear and much needed review of a mass ol complex data, much of which poses considerable problems of interpretation. Thus on incentives and motivation he is forced to conclude that *‘it is important to consider the nature of the incentive, of the task. of the dependent variable. and of the subject’s state of arousal and personality in investigating incentive effects” (p. 94). Chapters 7 and 8 deal with endogenous and exogenous determinants of arousal. The latter mcludes a discusston of theoretical explanations of the effects of noise on performance. an area in which Poulton and Broadbent have expressed rather different opinions. Eysenck comes down clearly in favour of the latter. The final chapter makes the important point that it is of limited interest whether arousal facilitates or impairs performance. “A more fruitful approach is to ‘decompose’ a task into its constituent processing operations” (p. 178). This does of course raise the question of whether. except in very restricted experimental situations, such operations can be identified. In all, an important and stimulating volume, both for students and those involved in research in this area. It 1s essenttal reading for those tempted to explain abnormalities of performance in clinical populations in terms of wayward arousal system. DAVID
J. FORD: Human Behauiour-Tow’ards f3.95.
a Pracrical Understanding. Routledge
& Kegan
Paul. London
R. HEMSLEV
(1982). viii +
158pages.
Jill Ford’s maJor assumptton is that to help people in their social situations it is useful to understand as much as posstble about people, social situations and processes of interaction. She acknowledges that understanding IS not in itself suthctent and attempts to iillustrate how understanding can be used to inform and enhance values. skills and choices. She makes the (obvious) statement that helping people in their social situations is an Important part of social work of which her greatest concern as a practitioner is the ‘social’. From these worthy fundamental statements she launches into a tour of different ‘worlds’-ranging from the Internal world of the individual to the world of the spirit. the family etc. Separately, the chapters are interesting. easy-to-read arttcles. They seem to be the product of an impassioned and determinedly eclectic worker. The btbliography ranges from Derek Jehu and Konrad Lorenz to Melanie Klein. Jung and Winnicott. The book reflects the dilemma of the social work professton, which is determined to be objecttve and wide ranging m its use of knowledge. It must consequently suffer the same criticism: well-intentioned but meffectual. It reads as an introductory commentary to this helping profession. It provides no base for any form of social work intervention to be defined or evaluated. I find it much more readable and enjoyable as the autobiographical account of d commttted eclectically-oriented social worker than as a useful text on social work. MICHAEL
R. C. FRIEDMAN
(Ed.): Behavior and the Menstrual Cycle. Dekker,
New York
(1982).
LODRICK
x + 467 pages.
Clinicians and researchers from diverse disciplines have attempted to understand the extremely complex relationshtp between behaviour and the menstrual cycle ever since Frank in 193 I first described premenstrual syndrome and postulated a hormonal basis. Because this subject crosses numerous interdisciplinary boundaries from endocrinology to sociology, and has been fraught with methodological problems and polarized views, progress has been slow and inconsistent findings predominate. This book, containing 19 articles by leading researchers in the field, provides an excellent overview of the current state of research. The first four chapters provide a clear descriptton of the physiological and neuroendocrine regulation of the menstrual cycle and sexual behaviour. Of particular interest to behaviourdl scientists are critical reviews of the psychological (Parlee), cognitive (Sommer, Rubie and Brookes-Gunn) and sexual (Morris and Udry, Williams and Williams) aspects of the menstrual cycle. These authors stress the need to refine methodology, e.g. to define menstrual stages accurately. to disguise the aim of studies and to use dally recording rather than retrospective reports which have been found to reflect social stereotypes. Despite the bias towards publicatton of positive results, when critically examined few studies show mood or cognitive menstrual changes in non-clinic populations. However. menstrual correlates of basic sensory/motor and CNS processes are being detected and more subtle cognitive factors examined. For example Ss were more likely to participate in psychological experiments at mid-cycle. The latter half of the book focuses on data from clinic populations. i.e. classification and aetiological aspects of premenstrual syndrome, its relationship to psychtatric diagnosis, psychodynamic explanations and hormonal and other medical treatments, The editor does not attempt to summarize this complex and sometimes contlicting research but. by bringing together studies from numerous disciplines. this book provides an excellent mstructtve source with full reference lists. MYRA
S. HUNTER
BOOK REVIEWS
The early chapters of the book provide a useful review of developments in theortes of attentton and processtn! resources. the aim being to introduce the constructs in terms of which the effects of arousal on attention dre to be dtscussed tn subsequent sections. Chapter 4. dealing with theories of arousal and performance. makes it clear that the effects of stress cannot be viewed in terms of the umtary ‘inverted-U’ model. The anomalous findings have long been apparent and led Broadbent in 1971 to speculate on the need to specify two or more partially-Independent systems. Unfortunately Eysenck does not indicate a clear development of this view. Later chapters are concerned with incentives and motivation, and anxiety and performance. whtch have recetved less attention from information-processing theorists. Here the author provides a clear and much needed review of a mass ol complex data, much of which poses considerable problems of interpretation. Thus on incentives and motivation he is forced to conclude that *‘it is important to consider the nature of the incentive, of the task. of the dependent variable. and of the subject’s state of arousal and personality in investigating incentive effects” (p. 94). Chapters 7 and 8 deal with endogenous and exogenous determinants of arousal. The latter mcludes a discusston of theoretical explanations of the effects of noise on performance. an area in which Poulton and Broadbent have expressed rather different opinions. Eysenck comes down clearly in favour of the latter. The final chapter makes the important point that it is of limited interest whether arousal facilitates or impairs performance. “A more fruitful approach is to ‘decompose’ a task into its constituent processing operations” (p. 178). This does of course raise the question of whether. except in very restricted experimental situations, such operations can be identified. In all, an important and stimulating volume, both for students and those involved in research in this area. It 1s essenttal reading for those tempted to explain abnormalities of performance in clinical populations in terms of wayward arousal system. DAVID
J. FORD: Human Behauiour-Tow’ards f3.95.
a Pracrical Understanding. Routledge
& Kegan
Paul. London
R. HEMSLEV
(1982). viii +
158pages.
Jill Ford’s maJor assumptton is that to help people in their social situations it is useful to understand as much as posstble about people, social situations and processes of interaction. She acknowledges that understanding IS not in itself suthctent and attempts to iillustrate how understanding can be used to inform and enhance values. skills and choices. She makes the (obvious) statement that helping people in their social situations is an Important part of social work of which her greatest concern as a practitioner is the ‘social’. From these worthy fundamental statements she launches into a tour of different ‘worlds’-ranging from the Internal world of the individual to the world of the spirit. the family etc. Separately, the chapters are interesting. easy-to-read arttcles. They seem to be the product of an impassioned and determinedly eclectic worker. The btbliography ranges from Derek Jehu and Konrad Lorenz to Melanie Klein. Jung and Winnicott. The book reflects the dilemma of the social work professton, which is determined to be objecttve and wide ranging m its use of knowledge. It must consequently suffer the same criticism: well-intentioned but meffectual. It reads as an introductory commentary to this helping profession. It provides no base for any form of social work intervention to be defined or evaluated. I find it much more readable and enjoyable as the autobiographical account of d commttted eclectically-oriented social worker than as a useful text on social work. MICHAEL
R. C. FRIEDMAN
(Ed.): Behavior and the Menstrual Cycle. Dekker,
New York
(1982).
LODRICK
x + 467 pages.
Clinicians and researchers from diverse disciplines have attempted to understand the extremely complex relationshtp between behaviour and the menstrual cycle ever since Frank in 193 I first described premenstrual syndrome and postulated a hormonal basis. Because this subject crosses numerous interdisciplinary boundaries from endocrinology to sociology, and has been fraught with methodological problems and polarized views, progress has been slow and inconsistent findings predominate. This book, containing 19 articles by leading researchers in the field, provides an excellent overview of the current state of research. The first four chapters provide a clear descriptton of the physiological and neuroendocrine regulation of the menstrual cycle and sexual behaviour. Of particular interest to behaviourdl scientists are critical reviews of the psychological (Parlee), cognitive (Sommer, Rubie and Brookes-Gunn) and sexual (Morris and Udry, Williams and Williams) aspects of the menstrual cycle. These authors stress the need to refine methodology, e.g. to define menstrual stages accurately. to disguise the aim of studies and to use dally recording rather than retrospective reports which have been found to reflect social stereotypes. Despite the bias towards publicatton of positive results, when critically examined few studies show mood or cognitive menstrual changes in non-clinic populations. However. menstrual correlates of basic sensory/motor and CNS processes are being detected and more subtle cognitive factors examined. For example Ss were more likely to participate in psychological experiments at mid-cycle. The latter half of the book focuses on data from clinic populations. i.e. classification and aetiological aspects of premenstrual syndrome, its relationship to psychtatric diagnosis, psychodynamic explanations and hormonal and other medical treatments, The editor does not attempt to summarize this complex and sometimes contlicting research but. by bringing together studies from numerous disciplines. this book provides an excellent mstructtve source with full reference lists. MYRA
S. HUNTER