540 BOOK REVIEWS

therapy is more intrusive than behavioural intervention and so in suitable cases the latter should be tried first’. Which cases are ‘suitable’ (or unsuitable) have not been defined, nor is the nitty gritty problem of the continuing paucity of adequately trained personnel to run the proposed programmes considered. Indeed, drugs are mentioned only twice in the whole book. once in the ethical chapter and once (p. 61) with reference to a programme comparing the et%cts of tokens with that ‘of various drugs’. the former being more effective. Since absolutely no details of the quantity, quality or duration of the drugs are provided, the value of the finding is questionable. It has long been a cause for concern that a considerable minority of all people with learning difficulties receive very long term psychotropic medication. both in and out of institutions. The value of the next edition of this generally admirable book would be further enhanced by the inclusion of work on the cost benefit ratios of such medication (used in the minimum effective dosages) together with behaviour modification programmes.

E. C. WRIGHT

EDWARD GOTTHEIL, KEITH A. DRULEY, STEVEN PASHKO and STEPHES P. WEISSTEN (Eds): Stress and Addiction. Brunner/Mazel. New York (1987). xiv t 327 pages. 540.00.

In 1945 Jules Masserman and his colleagues published their classic paper “Alcohol as a preventive of expenmental neurosis in cats”. The model of experimental neurosis with which they were working was based on such strategies as blowing a puff of air into the eye of an experimental animal just as it was about to gain the pellet of food which rewarded complex operantly learned behaviour. Learning was disrupted and the animal showed various “neurotic symptoms”. But if :he animals were given alcohol before being subjected to the noxious stimulus there was a dramatic protection against the development of “neurosis”.

Masserman was thus the founding father of the “tension reduction hypothesis” as an explanation of human drinking behaviour. His experiments appeared to give scientific underpinning to the rather older “Dutch Courage” hypothesis.

It is therefore exciting to find that the first chapter in the present text is written by none other than Jules Masserman himself. One of the later chapters is by Howard Cappell and is entitled: “Alcohol and tension reduction: what’s new?” Between these two poles lie a variety of contributions which tell us what has been happening to this theory over some 40 years and, indeed. what is new. The story is in part that of experimenters having got too clever by hali and persuading themselves that the supposed anxiolytic effect of a tot of rum before going into action was never more than an old wives’ tale. Masserman’s cats knew better.

For the full story of the life and times of a highly productive hypothesis, read this book. It should perhaps have been sub-titled “Festschrift to J. H. Masserman”.

GRIFFITH EDWARDS

S. F. WALKER: Animal Learning-An Introduction. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London (1987). xiii c 426 pages. f 10.95.

This book is designed for undergraduate psychology courses. It covers the central topics of habituation. classical and instrumental conditioning and reinforcement in a lucid and thorough way. It also includes sections which mtroduce issues in discrimation learning, memory and animal cognition, whilst the first chapter discusses the origins and implications of the nature-nurture debate.

The book has three main themes. Firstly. the author stresses that ostensibly similar behavioural patterns do not imply the existence of similar mechanisms across species or situations, For instance he suggests that three different accounts of habituation require the operation of very different processes, and apply to different types of organism and response system. However, in view of Mackintosh’s (1987) argument that the differences in the neural mechanisms required by these three theories are more apparent than real, it would have been worthwhile to pursue a more detailed critique of the theories, since this area offers one of the clearest contrasts between cellular and psvchological levels of explanation.

A second concern is to modify traditional general or two-process learning theories to make room for more complex processes. These include (I) levels of representation (i.e., the brain structures involved), (2) types of association (e.g., between stimuli, reinforcement, responses, goals or consequences), and (3) relatively innate as opposed to learned associations. Frameworks which incorporate these aspects are produced at different points in the book, which makes it difficult for the reader to integrate them, and suggests that the author is not willing to construct his own general frameuork (“variousness is closer to the truth”). This reluctance is understandable, but results in a more conceptually diffuse work than, for instance, the same author’s book on animal thought (Walker, 1983).

Thirdly, the author aims to make explicit the applications of learning theories to everyday life and human psycho- pathological conditions. Thus, for example. he assesses the relevance of classical conditioning to aversions. phobias, and the development of tolerance to drugs. Surprisingly he says almost nothing about the links between operant conditioning and behaviour modification, though this is the topic of another of his books (Walker, 1984).

In my view this is the best general introduction to animal learning available, and I recommend it highly. It is written with wit and clarity, and it supplies a great deal of information without obscuring essential points,

HELES HODGES

BOOK REVIEWS 541

REFERENCES

Mackintosh N. J. (1987) Neurobiology, psychology and habituation. Behar. Res. Ther. 25. 81-97 Walker S. F. (1983) Animal Thought. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. Walker S. F. (1984) Learning Theory and Behariour Modificafion. Methuen. London.

J. CLEMENTS: Secere Learning Disability and Psychological Handicap. Wiley, Chichester (1987). x + 186 pages. f 17.50.

This book is the first in a new series of texts in clinical psychology edited by Fraser Watts. It is divided into three sections: Part One competently summarises current knowledge about the nature of intellectual impairment; Part Two examines generally some of the ways of helping people with learning disabilities, while Part Three looks at two specific areas of remedial work, namely in language and communication and self control.

One of the most important themes of this book is the need for dialogue both between the experimental and applied psychology of learning disabilities and among researchers working in different branches of psychology (e.g. ecological psychology, neuropsychology. social and developmental psychology) in order to develop a proper understanding of severe intellectual impairment. The author makes a strong case for the development of a multidimensional approach to individuals with learning disabilities that recognises the complexity of such individuals and does away with the notion that they are “simple” and require only “simple” psychology.

Throughout the book there is. as stated, a clear commitment to the scientific method. However, perhaps unusually in a book of this nature, the author discusses the values and philosophies that both underpin scientific research and also the programmes of care and intervention offered to people with a mental handicap. He makes a personal statement about his own beliefs and values which, although not really necessary for the development of his argument, indicates his real understanding of the complexities and challenges in this field of work.

Despite his desire for a multidimensional approach, the author limits himself solely to a discussion of behavioural approaches in his overview of remedial work. He does acknowledge alternative approaches but the reader must look elsewhere for a fuller description of these although. as he indicates, there is much less research available on these than on behavioural approaches. His consideration of the literature describing behavioural approaches to managing problem behaviours and developing new skills highlights again those concerns so familiar to clinicians working in the real world rather than in laboratory-settings. The book touches upon the need to effect lasting changes in organisations providing services to woole with learning disabilities. I would have welcomed a much more detailed discussion of this as promoting . . such changes is often essential before work with an individual can even begin. The chapter on self-control is helpful as it brings together research studies from a number of different areas in a clear and interesting way.

This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book which is very readable, although marred occasionally by printing errors. At times it is a little repetitive and didactic in style. In many ways it can be seen as an introduction to the subject of learning disabilities stimulating one to go and explore different aspects further by following up some of the extensive references. It will certainly be of interest and value to clinicians specialising in this area of work.

NAS Harms

STUART SUTHERLAND: Breakdown-A Personal Crisis and a Medical Dilemma. Updated edition. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London (1987). xiv + 300 pages. f6.95 Paperback; f 12.95 Hardback.

Rereading this candid and provocative account after an interval of I I years, the reviewer (who also reviewed it when it originally appeared in 1976) was moved to ask whether, if Sutherland were to begin troubles now instead of when they occurred, any of the things that were done to him in the name of his health might be done differently.

Readers already familiar with the book from its first incarnation will know that it contains an extremely readable and detailed answer to the question, ‘What happens when an eminent Professor of Psychology suffers his first bout of severe agitated depression in midlife?’ followed by an often iconoclastic discussion of selected aspects of the problem of mental illness and its treatment in Britain at the time of writing.

The updated edition takes up Sutherland’s personal account where it left off and fills the reader in on what happened to his mental state (hypomanic episodes alternating with depressive bouts), his life (coronary bypass operation, marital breakdown), and what was done about his illness (more hospital, more therapy, eventually lithium), and its outcome (newfound stability after much upheaval). While the mental illness chapters appear to have been left as they stood originally, they are now supplemented by a fresh chapter on new developments in the understanding and treatment of depression, which includes: the establishment of a biochemical basis for bipolar disorders in the derangement of neurotransmitter systems, psychological induction of depression by exposure (of rats) to inescapable shock and rehabilitation with conventional antidepressants, social influences on depression (Brown and Harris), cognitive formulations (Seligman, Beck), and evaluation of psychotherapy.

Of these developments, the only one with major implications for how the author might have been treated differently I I years on is cognitive therapy, though perhaps lithium would have been proposed sooner. But otherwise, it seems depressingly likely that much of Sutherland’s depressing treatment history, with all its non sequiturs, inefficiency, and frustration would repeat itself. If for no other reason than to challenge tendencies towards complacency in those who provide services for the depressed, the book would have been worth reprinting. But it is also still a good read, and still an impressively vivid account of the boredom and anguish of severe mental illness, as well as a timely reminder that we are still far from knowing all the answers to the dilemma of breakdown.

VICKY RIPPERE