Author: Jack Vernon, Ph.D.
Edition Cited in The Compleat Witch
Publisher: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
City: New York
Year: 1963
additional information
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardback
Size: 5 3/4 x 8 1/2
Binding: Hardback
Size: 5 3/4 x 8 1/2
Front/Back Dust Jacket Flap Copy
INSIDE THE BLACK ROOM
by Jack Vernon, Ph.D.
What happens to a man in absolute darkness and silence? What happens to the intellect, the mind and the physical abilities, when all stimuli to the brain are drastically reduced? Man spends his life constantly bombarded through his various sensory faculties, and he seldom questions what life would be like without such stimulation. Research in sensory deprivation tries to find out what man’s potentials and problems would be if sensory stimulation were cut off. This study is of grave importance to anyone concerned with man’s future in space, with the conditions of solitary confinement, or with countering the techniques of brainwashing. The author presents a detailed report of the methods and the findings, illustrated with charts and graphs, of this important and exciting area of psychological research.
The experiments described in the book took place in the now famous “black room” at Princeton. Adult males were confined, one at a time, to a dark soundproof chamber for periods of time up to four days. The subjects were observed for the effect of the intensely still black room upon the intellectual and perceptual abilities of man. Very often the studies were based on little more than questions of the “I-wonder-what-will-happen-if-” type, as the scientists felt their way into this uncharted area of scientific research. As they worked, they discovered that man’s ability to estimate time was often grossly affected by the conditions of sensory deprivation. They also discovered that roughly one out of every four people finds confinement in sensory deprivation intolerable. It is possible to find out who will find sensory deprivation intolerable – who will crack – ahead of time? Will the future of man in space be affected by this difficulty of some men to adapt? Of can the problem be solved? Can man ever be taught how to resist brain-washing techniques that employ sensory deprivation? Can solitary confinement help some people, or irrevocably harm them?
Not all of the questions were answered at Princeton, but the work on these dramatic experiments now serves as a guide to scientists seeking further answers. In years to come it is likely these studies will be a basis for new, exciting discoveries. Right now the studies offer a set of data, facts without a theory, and problems without solutions, to intrigue scientists and the reader who find his imagination caught up in the possibilities of this research.
Jack Vernon, Ph.D., who was a participant in the first major conference held on sensory deprivation at Harvard in 1958, was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. He attended the University of Virginia, where he received his B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. He has been a psychology professor at Princeton University since 1954, and his work has been widely published in professional journals. He lives at Princeton with his wife and two children.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xi
INTRODUCTION xiii
PART I: HOW AND WHY S.D.?
CHAPTER I: What is S.D.? 3
Those who serve as subjects 7
CHAPTER II: WHAT IS WAS LIKE 11
Effects of interruption 15
Mental activities 17
Automatic air-conditioning 17
Control of cubicle air 19
Some health items 20
S.D. and Brainwashing 25
PART II: SENSORY DEPRIVATION AND ITS EFFECT UPON SOME MENTAL ABILITIES
CHAPTER III: Are there dreams in S.D.? 37
CHAPTER IV: Effects of S.D. on suggestibility 47
CHAPTER V: DOES MAN HAVE A NEED FOR STIMULATION? 54
CHAPTER VI: S.D. orientation in time 60
Technique for testing time estimates in S.D. 63
The estimate of short time intervals 70
PART III: SENSORY DEPRIVATION AND ITS EFFECT UPON LEARNING
CHAPTER VII: Can one think during S.D.? 75
CHAPTER VIII: The effects of S.D. upon learning 84
S.D. and more difficult learning tasks 88
CHAPTER IX: SOME SUBTLE EFFECTS OF S.D. UPON DIFFICULT LEARNING
How many kinds of errors were made? 98
Fluctuation cycles 99
Efficiency of learning 102
CHAPTER X: THE EFFECT OF S.D. UPON LEARNING A NEW TASK 105
Performance of unstructured tasks 112
PART IV: S.D. AND THE BODY
CHAPTER XI: SENSORY DEPRIVATION AND HALLUCINATIONS 119
What is a hallucination? 121
Classification of hallucinations 123
Auditory hallucinations 134
Future studies of hallucinations 136
CHAPTER XII: SOME PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF SENSORY DEPRIVATION
Rail-walking ability 139
Motor co-ordination 140
Hand tremor 141
Reaction time 143
CHAPTER XIII: PERCEPTION OF PAIN 145
CHAPTER XIV: THE EFFECT OF S.D. UPON SPEED OF REACTION 158
CHAPTER XV: THOSE WHO STAYED NOT 164
Reasons for quitting S.D. 168
Length of confinement 175
Effects of strangeness 176
The viewing box 178
Maximizing the worst of S.D. 180
Final comment 182
CHAPTER XVI: DIET AND LOSS OF WEIGHT 184
S.D. effects upon body weight 187
A change of food 189
CHAPTER XVII: FACTS WITHOUT A THEORY 194
Online Resources
Project Gutenberg
Wikipedia (book or author)
Editions
(arranged by year)
(scan by Rev. Byrd | Cited Edition)
Title: Inside the Black Room
Subtitle: Studies of Sensory Deprivation
Year: 1963
Publisher: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., New York
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size: 6 x 8.5
Cover Price: $4.50
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes: (revised, foreword by, afterword by, etc.)
Subtitle: Studies of Sensory Deprivation
Year: 1963
Publisher: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., New York
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size: 6 x 8.5
Cover Price: $4.50
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes: (revised, foreword by, afterword by, etc.)
Title: Inside the Black Room
Subtitle:
Year: 1963
Publisher: Souvenir Press, London
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size:
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size:
Cover Price:
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes: 1st UK edition
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes: 1st UK edition
Title: Inside the Black Room
Subtitle:
Year: 1965
Publisher: Souvenir Press, London
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size:
Pages: 203
Binding: Hardcover
Size:
Cover Price:
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes:
(Internet Source | Pelican Books)
Year: 1966
Publisher: Pelican Books
Pages: 182
Binding: Paperback
Size:
Pages: 182
Binding: Paperback
Size:
Cover Price:
ISBN:
LoC:
ISBN:
LoC:
Notes: (revised, foreword by, afterword by, etc.)
Additional Photos/Images
(Sample Illustrations, Cited Edition)
(scan by Rev. Byrd | Cited Edition)
“Fig. 5. Subject starts at arrow and finishes
by going all the way around the star,
between the lines, and back to start.”
Misc. Quotes
(Interesting or pithy quotes from the book)
“Both men claimed that it was easy to resist scratching [from poison ivy] because of S.D. [Sensory Deprivation], and that even normally unpleasant sensations may during S.D. become desirable for the simple reason that they tend to relieve monotony. Does this suggest that monotony is even more undesirable than we imagine?”
“When food is withheld from an individual, he develops hunger. The same is true for water and air. It is also obvious that the longer the items is withheld the greater the need becomes. From this analogy it was an irresistible step to ask if withholding or greatly reducing stimulation in S.D. generated a need for it. More specifically, we came to ask if an individual would accept, or even seek, a form of stimulation in S.D. that would not normally interest him.”
“When food is withheld from an individual, he develops hunger. The same is true for water and air. It is also obvious that the longer the items is withheld the greater the need becomes. From this analogy it was an irresistible step to ask if withholding or greatly reducing stimulation in S.D. generated a need for it. More specifically, we came to ask if an individual would accept, or even seek, a form of stimulation in S.D. that would not normally interest him.”
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