SENSORY DEPRIVATION: Editor , The American Journal of Psychiatry
Abstract
identify the exact number of active grants at any point in time, the approximate number for the month of December, 1958, was 825; analysis of the entire body of data might yield quite different results. Furthermore, Dr. Goshenâs data were derived from sources other than the complete files at the National Institute of Mental Health. To a degree, any general break-down of the content of a large research program must inevitably result in arbitrary categories with some considerable overlap among them. Thus, for example, Dr. Goshenâs 21-way classification by methods used includes the following: âpsychological testing,â âpsychotherapy,â âpsychopathology.âClearly, these categories do not comfortably belong within a single dimension; only one of them (the first) can be regarded as a method. More important, anumber ents-for betweenmay have all 3 ingredia study of the interaction and patient, in which a battery of psychological tests is used as a method to measure the variables under investigation. Does such a study belong underof studies example, therapistâpsychological testingâ or âpsychotherapyâ or âpsychopathology ?â The decision can be dangerously arbitrary. Earlier this year, the Research Grants and Fellowships Branch of NIMH initiated a detailed analysis of the entire program of research under its sponsorship