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Psychology. An introduction to a behavioral science
Journal o f the neurological Sciences Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands
499
Book Reviews
Psychology. An Introduction to a Behavioral Science, by H. C. LINDGREN AND D. BYRNE, 3rd edition, xvi + 759 pages, 221 illustrations, 33 tables, Wiley, New York, London, Sydney, Toronto, 1971, £ 5.50. This is one of a number of textbooks now available which have been designed for the type of introductory course in Psychology given at many universities and colleges in the U.S.A. It shares the merits and demerits of most books of its kind. A large number of topics are discussed but most of them are treated at a superficial level. Four pages on the history of psychology (pp. 12-16) may be better than nothing, but four paragraphs on signal detection theory (p. 210) are probably worse than useless. The authors place more emphasis than is usual in an introductory text on how work in psychology may be related to everyday experience. It is perhaps for this reason that a good deal of the book is devoted to problems of personal and social adjustment. The reader may well be left with the impression that firm conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented, whereas in many cases the interpretation of this evidence is controversial. For example, it is stated (p. 109) that "In general, adults have a greater variety of interests and are attracted to work that is characterized by organisation and cooperation, whereas young people are attracted to activities involving adventure, recreation and military activities". This statement seems to be based on a study of men
Vestibularapparat und hirnelektrische Aktivitdt. EEG- und ENG-Studien bei Gesunden und bei Epilepsiekranken (Aktuelle Probleme in der Psychiatrie, Neurologie, Neurochirurgie, Vol. 6), by K. KARBOWSKI, with an introduction by M. MUMENTHALER, 123 pages, 39 illustrations, 17 tables, Huber, Berne, Stuttgart, Vienna, 1971, Sfr 43.--; DM 39.--. Vestibular reaction to caloric stimulation in normal and epileptic subjects is discussed as measured with simultaneous electronystagmographic and electroencephalographic recording. An interesting historical introduction and a critical survey of existing methods of vestibular examination explain the preference for caloric stimulation over others. Neural relationships, afferent and efferent, between vestibular organ, nuclei, cerebellum, cortical
aged 52 carried out in the U.S.A. in 1969, in which their interests were compared with the interests they remembered having at the age of 16. Whatever this study shows, it is clear that it does not provide evidence on young people's attitudes today. One's confidence in using the book is not increased when one turns to the chapter on "Neural aspects of behavior". Hubel and Wiesel are mentioned but they are credited with the finding that "certain parts of the retina are responsive, for example, only when patterns are oriented in the vertical direction"! (p. 189). There is a profusion of photographs, diagrams and tables, but many of the tables cannot be interpreted without more information on the way in which the data was collected. The photographs are good, aesthetically, but their relevance to the text is often obscure, and many of them seem to have a purely decorative function. A redeeming feature of the book is that the suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter are representative and well chosen. A student merely using the book to gain access to these sources would not go far wrong. The authors have really attempted too much within the covers of a single volume. There are now available as paperbacks many good short introductory texts on specific topics each written by an expert in his own field. The student is much better advised to accumulate a collection of these rather than rely on a single compendium. R. DAVIS and subcortical areas are analysed. The presentation is up to date except for lack of mention of the "reafference principle" of von Hoist and Mittelstaedt (1950) and of adaptation, habituation and "pattern centre" activities as published by the Utrecht school. If these had been taken into account the problem of conscious perception of enforced movement in contrast to unnoticed spontaneous motion would have received better treatment and explanation. After having calibrated his caloric test on 50 normal subjects with regard to ENG, vertigo and EEG, the results on 62 epileptic patients are thoroughly analyzed and compared. In 2/3 of all normal subjects the EEG following caloric stimulation shows initially amplitude reduction of ~-waves, presumably because of activation of the reticular formation; this period is followed by increased
J. neurol. Sci., 1972, 16:499-502
499
Book Reviews
Psychology. An Introduction to a Behavioral Science, by H. C. LINDGREN AND D. BYRNE, 3rd edition, xvi + 759 pages, 221 illustrations, 33 tables, Wiley, New York, London, Sydney, Toronto, 1971, £ 5.50. This is one of a number of textbooks now available which have been designed for the type of introductory course in Psychology given at many universities and colleges in the U.S.A. It shares the merits and demerits of most books of its kind. A large number of topics are discussed but most of them are treated at a superficial level. Four pages on the history of psychology (pp. 12-16) may be better than nothing, but four paragraphs on signal detection theory (p. 210) are probably worse than useless. The authors place more emphasis than is usual in an introductory text on how work in psychology may be related to everyday experience. It is perhaps for this reason that a good deal of the book is devoted to problems of personal and social adjustment. The reader may well be left with the impression that firm conclusions can be drawn from the evidence presented, whereas in many cases the interpretation of this evidence is controversial. For example, it is stated (p. 109) that "In general, adults have a greater variety of interests and are attracted to work that is characterized by organisation and cooperation, whereas young people are attracted to activities involving adventure, recreation and military activities". This statement seems to be based on a study of men
Vestibularapparat und hirnelektrische Aktivitdt. EEG- und ENG-Studien bei Gesunden und bei Epilepsiekranken (Aktuelle Probleme in der Psychiatrie, Neurologie, Neurochirurgie, Vol. 6), by K. KARBOWSKI, with an introduction by M. MUMENTHALER, 123 pages, 39 illustrations, 17 tables, Huber, Berne, Stuttgart, Vienna, 1971, Sfr 43.--; DM 39.--. Vestibular reaction to caloric stimulation in normal and epileptic subjects is discussed as measured with simultaneous electronystagmographic and electroencephalographic recording. An interesting historical introduction and a critical survey of existing methods of vestibular examination explain the preference for caloric stimulation over others. Neural relationships, afferent and efferent, between vestibular organ, nuclei, cerebellum, cortical
aged 52 carried out in the U.S.A. in 1969, in which their interests were compared with the interests they remembered having at the age of 16. Whatever this study shows, it is clear that it does not provide evidence on young people's attitudes today. One's confidence in using the book is not increased when one turns to the chapter on "Neural aspects of behavior". Hubel and Wiesel are mentioned but they are credited with the finding that "certain parts of the retina are responsive, for example, only when patterns are oriented in the vertical direction"! (p. 189). There is a profusion of photographs, diagrams and tables, but many of the tables cannot be interpreted without more information on the way in which the data was collected. The photographs are good, aesthetically, but their relevance to the text is often obscure, and many of them seem to have a purely decorative function. A redeeming feature of the book is that the suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter are representative and well chosen. A student merely using the book to gain access to these sources would not go far wrong. The authors have really attempted too much within the covers of a single volume. There are now available as paperbacks many good short introductory texts on specific topics each written by an expert in his own field. The student is much better advised to accumulate a collection of these rather than rely on a single compendium. R. DAVIS and subcortical areas are analysed. The presentation is up to date except for lack of mention of the "reafference principle" of von Hoist and Mittelstaedt (1950) and of adaptation, habituation and "pattern centre" activities as published by the Utrecht school. If these had been taken into account the problem of conscious perception of enforced movement in contrast to unnoticed spontaneous motion would have received better treatment and explanation. After having calibrated his caloric test on 50 normal subjects with regard to ENG, vertigo and EEG, the results on 62 epileptic patients are thoroughly analyzed and compared. In 2/3 of all normal subjects the EEG following caloric stimulation shows initially amplitude reduction of ~-waves, presumably because of activation of the reticular formation; this period is followed by increased
J. neurol. Sci., 1972, 16:499-502