THE STARTLE PATTERN

CarneyLandis and William A. Hunt '2B. NewYork: Farrar & Rinehart, 1939' Pfice$2.50. p. 168.

Carney Landis, M.A. 1922 and William A. Hunt, B.A. 1928 have both taught psychology at Dartmouth. They have elaborated to produce a technical and scholarly work which presupposes a knowledge of psychology, neurology and psychiatry. The book deals with a "minute analysis of simple fragments of behavior," nated as the "startle pattern." This term refers to the eye blink and normally some degree of facial—bodily response or "jump." Such basic emotional reflexes are elicited by a sudden intense stimulation. The investigators used, boldly enough, the explosion of a .as or .32 caliber gun. Since the startle pattern occurs in less than a second, magnification of time was needed. Hence motion pictures were taken at high speeds, 64 exposures per second, and at superspeeds up to 300 exposures per second.

A comprehensive series of experiments is described. Infants, adults, primates and lower animal forms were investigated; the basic reaction was involuntary and universal. Even trained marksmen of the New York Police Department were photographed in their practice on the range and to their own astonishment they too manifested the startle pattern. Most significant from the point of view of psychiatry are the differences in the degree of reaction among various psychotics.

The precision and scientific thoroughness of the investigators serves as a model of research. The findings are fundamental to an understanding of emotional reflexes and contribute particularly to the diagnosis of true epilepsy. The demonstrated value of ultrarapid photography as a research technique is a far-reaching methodological contribution.