Psychoanalysis as Science by E. Pumpian-Mindlin; Ernest R. Hilgard; Lawrence S. Kubie Review by: Robert R.

Blake The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 67, No. 2 (Jun., 1954), pp. 393-394 Published by: University of Illinois Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1418664 . Accessed: 12/02/2014 12:54
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BOOK REVIEWS

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writing and concrete contribution," for inclusion in this book. The articles are classified in eleven groups: (1) Motivation and morale, (2) Training in industry, (3) Analysis and evaluation of job performance, (4) Psychological tests, (5) Interviewing and counseling, (6) Accidents and safety, (7) Fatigue and worker efficiency, (8) Market research, (9) Industrial leadership, (10) Industrial relations, and (11) Psychologists in industry. The articles range from the purely arm-chair type to factual reports of carefully controlled studies. Each is directly reprinted and introduced with a four- or five-line summary by the editors. Although 53 other equally good articles could have been chosen, those selected are indeed representative, which is all that the editors claim. It might have been possible, however, by judicious condensation, to double the number of articles in the space allotted. Nevertheless, this book of readings should prove to be very useful, especially on the undergraduate level. J. STANLEY GRAY University of Georgia and Psychoanalysis as Science. By E. PUMPIAN-MINDLIN, ERNESTR. HILGARD, LAWRENCE S. KUBIE. Stanford University Press, 1952. Pp. x, 174. The Hixon Lectures on the scientific status of psychoanalysis delivered at the California Institute of Technology in 1950 are reproduced in this book. Kubie centers his discussion on the way in which the psychoanalytic interpretation is presumed to function in producing behavior change, pointing to the obstacles that must be overcome if this intervention on the part of the therapist is to be understood in a scientifically acceptable way. Hilgard examines the validity of certain psychoanalytic concepts by summarizing and evaluating experiments that have been conducted in order to provide an impartial test of them. Pumpian-Mindlin considers technical difficulties facing psychoanalysis in contrast with those facing the biological and social scientists in developing a science of behavior. The product is a well-written, nonpartisan book. It touches on many of the key problems that must be satisfactorily dealt with before psychoanalytic concepts can become a body of systematically verified propositions concerning human motivation and the conditions that produce predictable changes in behavior. ROBERT R. BLAKE University of Texas

Manic Depressive Psychosis. By LEOPOLD BELLAK. New York, Grune & Stratton, 1952. Pp. xii, 472. Here is a systematic summary of the literature (about 1200 references) on the manic-depressive syndrome and related disorders, a companion volume to the author's earlier work on schizophrenia. Bellak's theoretical approach to the two psychoses is very much the same, but the volume at hand is presented only as a review of the literature and the author usually offers no judgment concerning the validity of the materials included. In the preface Bellak suggest the need for a central agency which would help to administer and to co6rdinate statistical research on psychiatric problems. He also offers the opinion that much work and much journalspace are wasted as a result of the physician's lack of experimental sophistication. FLOY JACKMOORE College of Medicine Baylor University

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394

BOOK REVIEWS

The Story of the Adaptation Syndrome. By HANS SELYE.Montreal, Acta, 1952. Pp. 225. Second Annual Report on Stress. By HANS SELYEand ALEXANDER HORAVA. Montreal, Acta, 1952. Pp. viii, 526. The first volume, based on a series of recorded lectures, provides a refreshingly informal account of the inception and course of the author's researches on the "pharmacology of dirt." Psychologists who share the current interest in problems of stress will find here a valuable summary of Selye's ideas which can be followed with a minimum of physiological sophistication. The student will profit from the glimpses of science in situ which the volume affords. The Annual Report serves as a guide to more than 4,000 recent papers. M. E. B. Essentials in Interviewing. By ANNE F. FENLASON. New York, Harper, 1952. Pp. xi, 352. This posthumously printed work is an attempt to bring together a few copiously illustrated principles of interviewing. The text was designed primarily for students of case-work and for others interested in clinical interviewing, and the material should prove interesting reading for the undergraduate student in these areas. We can only agree, however, with Miss Fenlason's own evaluation of the originality of her contribution. She quotes Montaigne in saying that "I have here only made a nosegay of culled flowers, and have brought nothing of my own but the thread that ties them together." For most readers familiar with the literature and techniques of interviewing, the treatment is likely to prove both uncritical and elementary. PATRICIA C. SMITH Cornell University The Psychology of Learning. By E. R. GUTHRIE.Revised edition. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1952. Pp. x, 310. To his well known treatment of learning, Guthrie has added four chapters-one on the "pluralistic theories" of Tolman and Maier, a second on reinforcement theory (Hull, Spence, Miller and Dollard), a third on Skinner, and a fourth on the study with Horton of cats in a puzzle-box. The relation between Guthrie's formulation and the great bulk of experimental work on learning remains remote. M. E. B.

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