Sensory Restriction: Effects on Behavior focuses on the presentation of experimental findings on sensory deprivation and their connection to behavior. The book first offers information on the theoretical framework and physiological effects of sensory restriction. Discussions focus on arousal and the reticular activating system; cortical arousal as a function of level of stimulus variation; possible basis for individual differences in level of arousal; galvanic skin response; biological changes; and other physiological findings. The manuscript also ponders on perceptual and motor effects, affective changes, and differences in tolerance for sensory restriction. Topics include sensory restriction research, therapeutic effects of sensory restriction, and tolerance as a function of need for stimulation. The text also ponders on the effects of social isolation, including individual and small group social isolation. The book is a valuable source of data for readers interested on the effects of sensory restriction on behavior.

A dozen years ago, Peter Suedfeld introduced the world to the term "REST' to describe the modern technique or therapy involving Restricted Environmental Stimulation. At the time, REST was still equated with "sensory deprivation". Textbooks in psychology and psychiatry cited primarily the work of the 1950s and 60s which suggested that reduction of normal levels of stimulation was, in a sense, a form of torture producing severe psychological disturbances and subjugation of the hapless participant to the whims of an experimenter working in the service of a sinister government. In contrast to this perception, other psychologists and psychiatrists held the unsubstantiated belief that apparent REST effects were merely the result of awe inspiring experimental settings and subject expectancies. Suedfeld was not persuaded by either of these unscientific positions. He (Suedfeld, 1980) argued that REST, when stripped of anxiety producing melodrama, was simply a powerful way to positively alter a variety of psychological and behavioral processes. Research continued. More and more data were published and presented. Research scientists and clinicians began to correct misconceptions. The First International Conference on REST was held in 1983 and IRIS, the International REST Investigators Society, was founded that same year. REST has outlived misconstrued perceptions. The beneficial effects of the technique are now recognized in the majority of scientific texts.

This book is an effort to integrate some clinical observations, theoretical concepts, and promising clinical procedures that relate psychological variables to physiological variables. My primary emphasis is on what psychological and behavioral concepts and procedures are most likely to enable us to influence physiological functions. The book covers ques tions that have fascinated me and with which I have struggled in daily clinical practice. What types of people are most at risk for physical disor ders or dysfunctions? Why do some people present psychosocial con flicts somatically and others behaviorally? What is the placebo effect and how does it work? How do you arrange the conditions to alter maladap tive belief systems that contribute to psychopathology and patho physiology? Do beliefs have biological consequences? When I was in private clinical practice, and even today in my medi cal school clinical practice situation, I set aside one day each week to puzzle over the theoretical questions that my clinical experience gener ates. Often isolating these underlying theoretical questions provides guidance into the most relevant empirical literature. I have found that this weekly ritual, which I started in private practice many years ago, appears to increase my clinical efficacy or at least makes clinical work more exciting. I find the unexamined clinical practice hard to endure. Kurt Lewin once said, "There is nothing so practical as a good theory.

This thorough revision of the first edition, updates and expands, with 25 percent new material, what was generally recognized as a major survey of contemporary scientific research in hypnosis. In this edition, also a classic, the editors include three new essays in modern hypnosis studies. They also provide a new conceptual framework--cognitive, ego-psychological, and phenomenological--with which to examine hypnosis. This edition is divided into six sections--Theoretical and Historical Perspectives, New Theories, Surveys of Broad Areas, Lines of Individual Research, Individual Researches within Specific Areas, and Anticipations for Future Research. The entire book was completely revised in the light of additional research since publication of the original edition. Thirteen of the twenty chapters in the first edition were updated by their authors, six so extensively that they amount to new chapters, with changes in title and order of authors in the case of coauthored chapters. Hypnosis: Developments in Research and New Perspectives is intended for researchers in hypnosis and clinical practitioners in medicine and psychology. The focus, as indicated by the changed subtitle, is on developments since publication of the original editions: empirical studies, experiments with physiological indicators of hypnosis, and theoretical uses associated with use of hypnosis as a research tool. Altogether, this second edition is a valuable overall guide to an intriguing topic.

Previously reported results of sensory-deprivation experiences, of which flotation REST is an instance, were dramatic, generally negative and ultimately unreliable. This book offers controlled systematic research on the effects of flotation REST. The papers in this collection were chosen from those presented at the first three international conferences on REST and fall into several categories. The major category concerns theoretical formulations for REST effects; other categories in the collection deal with experimental findings and clinical research in relation with flotation REST.

This thorough revision of the first edition, updates and expands, with 25 percent new material, what was generally recognized as a major survey of contemporary scientific research in hypnosis. In this edition, also a classic, the editors include three new essays in modern hypnosis studies. They also provide a new conceptual framework--cognitive, ego-psychological, and phenomenological--with which to examine hypnosis. This edition is divided into six sections--Theoretical and Historical Perspectives, New Theories, Surveys of Broad Areas, Lines of Individual Research, Individual Researches within Specific Areas, and Anticipations for Future Research. The entire book was completely revised in the light of additional research since publication of the original edition. Thirteen of the twenty chapters in the first edition were updated by their authors, six so extensively that they amount to new chapters, with changes in title and order of authors in the case of coauthored chapters. Hypnosis: Developments in Research and New Perspectives is intended for researchers in hypnosis and clinical practitioners in medicine and psychology. The focus, as indicated by the changed subtitle, is on developments since publication of the original editions: empirical studies, experiments with physiological indicators of hypnosis, and theoretical uses associated with use of hypnosis as a research tool. Altogether, this second edition is a valuable overall guide to an intriguing topic.

Originally published in 1963, this definitive textbook, written by pioneering Professor William S. Kroger’s, defined and shaped the field of hypnosis for over 20 years after its publication, and remains an authoritative text in its field to this day. Together with his seminars presented in association with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, Professor Kroger’s textbook changed the perception of hypnosis from being a novelty to a legitimate and respected medical option, and solidified his reputation as a leader in the field.

The first and foremost concrete fact which every one will affirm to belong to his inner experience is the fact that consciousness of some sort goes on. I -William James, 1893 We are witnessing today a mounting interest among behavioral and biological scientists in problems long recognized as central to our understanding of human nature, yet until recently considered out of the bounds of scientific psychology and physiology. Sometimes thrown into the heading of "altered states of consciousness," this growing research bears directly upon such time-honored questions as the nature of conscious experience, the mind-body relationship, and volition. If one broadly views this research as encompassing the two interrelated areas of consciousness and self-regulation, one can find many relevant contemporary examples of creative and experimentally sophisticated approaches, including research on the regulation of perception and sensory experience, attention, imagery and thinking, emotion and pain; hypnosis and meditation; biofeedback and volun tary control; hemispheric asymmetry and specialization of brain func tion; drug-induced subjective states; and biological rhythms. Because the material is spread over many different kinds of publications and disciplines, it is difficult for anyone person to keep fully abreast of the significant advances. The overall aim of the new Plenum Series in Consciousness and Self-Regulation: Advances in Research is to provide a scholarly forum for discussing integration of these diverse areas by presenting some of the best current research and theory.