Physiological Correlate of Therapeutic Change

Abstract
Introduction Certain physiological reaction patterns have been shown to be closely related to characteristics of personality. According to Davis1 numerous authors have shown that the intensity of autonomic discharge increases with frustration. Lacey and Lacey2 found that impulsive persons even at rest display rhythmic bouts of palmar sweat secretion and rhythmic increases in heart rate while in other persons little change occurs. Roessler et al3 demonstrated a relationship between ego strength as defined by scores on the ES scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and certain physiological responses in subjects who were stimulated with various intensities of sound. A recent investigation dealing with physiological responses in psychotherapeutic relationships4 raised the question as to whether or not certain physiological response patterns obtained from patients prior to any psychotherapy would differ among those patients who eventually improved or did

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