ABSTRACT
Physiological psychology is the study of interactions; an examination of the way natural fluctuations within the brain and body (‘under the skin’ phenomena) lead to alterations in behaviour (actions, thoughts, emotions, etc.); and a corresponding analysis of the way the body responds to natural or imposed psychological situations such as perceptual problems, learning tasks, emotional conflicts, and others. As will be seen shortly investigations of this two-way process may be subsumed, for convenience, within two distinct but complementary strategies each of which focuses upon information flowing in one particular direction in the two-way transaction. However, it must be remembered that the interaction between physiological and psychological events is dynamic and everchanging. The working of the total system leads to the display of integrated sequences of activities which depend upon the continual feedback of information between the physiological and psychological environments. The intimate interdependence of these environments means that the goal of physiological psychology must ultimately involve an exploration of the fine structure of this subtle and detailed network of reciprocating relationships.
