ABSTRACT
Over the years, psychophysiologists have developed, or stimulated the development of, increasingly sensitive and sophisticated instruments to measure the physiological variables in their psychological studies. The refined instruments and techniques have led to a precision that allows the measurement of physiological responses in many practical applications. The next two chapters address the question: How might the measurement of physiological responses help in the solution of practical problems? In order to find answers, we examine a number of research studies in a variety of areas. The main difference between the studies described here and those in earlier chapters is that applied research is generally performed to provide an answer to a specific problem, the solution of which has practical value. This is not to say that basic research is valueless, because it often leads to applications of information or techniques that eventually prove to be very useful. Thus, applied and basic research often support and complement each other.
