Symposium On Physiological Psychology

"This is the report of a symposium representing the research program of the Physiological Psychology Branch of the Office of Naval Research. Host for the occasion on 10-11 March 1955 was the U.S. Naval School of Aviation Medicine where many ONR contractors in the fields of physiology and aviation psychology have integrated their research with that conducted by the Navy. The physical setting for the symposium provided other ONR contractors with an opportunity to acquaint themselves with research being conducted at Pensacola, while Pensacola personnel enjoyed the stimulating exchange of information and theories which characterized the sessions. The many outstanding scientists attending represented such diverse fields as physiology, psychology, neuroanatomy, psychophysics, psychoacoustics, and biochemistry. This multiplicity of disciplines provided a rich source of stimulation as each specialist became better aware of the techniques, contributions, and problems of the other, and the relationship of his own efforts to the search for a broader knowledge of the human organism."--Foreword

Feelings and Emotions: The Loyola Symposium covers knowledge in the field of emotion. The book discusses the theories of emotions based on biological considerations; the neural and physiological correlates of feeling and emotion; and cognitive theories of feeling and emotion. The text also describes the psychological approaches to the study of emotion; the mood theory and measurement; as well as the developments related to the search for significant relations between private events and both behavioral and physiological events. The role of feelings and emotions in personality is also encompassed. Psychologists, physiologists, anthropologists, sociologists, biochemists, psychiatrists, and students taking psychology courses will find the book useful.

Cross-Cultural Difference in Perspectives on the Self features the latest research in a dynamic area of inquiry and practice. Considered in these pages are cross-cultural differences in the idea of the person and in models of balancing obligations to the self, family, and community. Revisiting and questioning the concepts of self and self-worth, the authors investigate the extent to which factors traditionally associated with psychological effectiveness (intrinsic motivation; assuming personal responsibility for one's actions; and feeling in control, unique, hopeful, and optimistic) are culturally bound. Hazel Markus and Shinobu Kitayama consider cultural differences in models of psychological agency; Joan Miller critiques the meaning of the term agency, analyzing the extent to which many popular theories in psychology rest on rather narrow Western models of behavior and effective functioning; Steven Heine calls into question the presumed universality of some forms of cognitive processing; Sheena Iyengar and Sanford DeVoe apply a cross-cultural perspective to better understand intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the value of choice; Kuo-shu Yang questions the universality of the pervasive and popular "theory of self-actualization" formulated by Abraham Maslow; and finally, Ype Poortinga reexamines not only the cultural boundaries of theory but also the very meaning of the concept of culture itself. Virginia Murphy-Berman is a visiting professor of psychology at Skidmore College. John J. Berman is a professor of psychology at Skidmore College and the editor of the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Volume 37: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (Nebraska 1990).

This short volume contains papers presented at a special symposium, "The Physiology of Aggression and Defeat," during the MAS meetings in Dallas, Texas, in December, 1968. At a time when we need to understand the basic mechan isms underlying various forms of aggression, these papers report progress toward this goal. Although the many social, psychologic and economic causal mechanisms contributing to aggression have been reasonably well-understood for a number of years, the correlated physiological, biochemical, endocrinological and neurochemical changes taking place in an organism that is either the aggressor or the recipient of aggression have not been studied extensively, and the limited available data in the past have often been in con siderable conflict. These eight papers demonstrate that complex interac tions take place among the psychological, social, physio logical, biochemical, endocrinological and neurochemical factors involved in aggression and defeat. The general indications are that while the aggressor learns to survive and adapts readily to the fighting process, the vanquished, if he does not die, maintains an existence highlighted by severe and extensive changes in all physiologic and psycho logic systems. We cannot make sweeping generalizations to the human organism from the results of non-human animal experimentation. Nevertheless, it is well-known that in all animals, including the human, similar basic biochemi cal systems are involved.

This book is the product of a two-day symposium held at the University of Texas, Austin, in March 1978. There was double motivation for our hosting a symposium on neural mechanisms in behavior. The 1977-1978 academic year marked both the 50th anniversary of the Department of Psychology at Texas and the 30th anniversary of the famous Hixon Symposium organized by the longest serving member of the department, LLOYD JEFFRESS. PHILIP GOUGH, then chairman of the department, suggested that the department celebrate these two historic events, and honor itself in the process, by holding the first of a series of symposia on topics in experimental psychology. Approval and initial funding for this enterprise came from ROBERT KING, then Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences; additional funds were pro vided by the Program in Cognitive Science of the Sloan Foundation. Proceeds from the sale of this volume will all pass into a fund to help support subsequent symposia and volumes. At 50 we are clearly a young department, even for a psy chology department, but psychology was at least nominally present from the beginning of The University of Texas in 1883. Then, courses in psychology were offered in the School of Philosophy and had wonderful titles, such as "Mental Science (Strictly Speaking). " In 1898, the first experimental psychology course was offered. (Or at least it was intended to be offered; the catalog indicated that it was contingent upon the availability of necessary equipment.

The eighth Ontario Symposium brought together an international group of scholars who work in the area of the psychology of values. Among the categories these experts address are the conceptualizations of values, value systems, and value-attitude-behavior relations; methodological issues; the role of values in specific domains, such as prejudice, commitment, and deservingness; and the transmission of values through family, media, and culture. Each chapter in the volume illustrates both the diversity and vitality of research on the psychology of values.