Applied Psychophysiological Research: The art and science of establishing credibility. Or, how can you tell if that amazing new treatment really works?

Richard A. Sherman, Ph.D.

Dec 2022 · Advance Educational Institute and Research Center (AEIRC)

About this ebook

This is a manual on how to do applied psychophysiological research and why. It is timely and necessary. Timely because applied psychophysiology has come to the attention of providers and the public who would like to benefit from the applications. In medicine many current publications address translational research. Applied psychophysiology is translational research in the area of psychophysiology. It is necessary because the validity of many claims of benefits for technologies and procedures are limited to testimonials and poorly designed research. It is necessary because there are few resources to specifically guide a researcher who undertakes applied psychophysiology. The goals of applied psychophysiology such as producing a useful effect are much different than the goals of basic research which are focused on validating a theoretical model. Different tools are required to attain those goals. Dr. Sherman is a seasoned psychophysiologist with extensive publications in basic and applied research. He has been a leader in professional societies fostering applied psychophysiology and he has refined the teachability of this material through years of teaching students in a graduate program of applied psychophysiology.

It begins immediately with cardinal rules for establishing credibility when you are preparing a clinical presentation or attending to a clinical presentation. The rest of the book details how to address those rules. An introduction orients the reader to the purpose, needed statistical software, definitions of applied psychophysiology, the rationale of the discipline and a discussion of the scientific method. The content is then presented in five sections covering: A) The need to know what you are doing—from inspiration through protocol development, research ethics and protocol approval process, B) Basic study structures such as research designs appropriate for office or clinical environments, C) Establishing credibility of data and psychophysiological publications, D) Statistics for evaluating and interpreting psychophysiological data, and E) Synthesizing these elements so that write-ups and presentations use appropriate research designs and statistics, provide an adequate basis to secure any needed grants and provide credible evidence to the professional community. Additional sections F through J provide helps in the form of a glossary, sample protocols that exemplify good and bad models, recommendations for further readings and references.

This book would work well for graduate students in applied psychophysiology, as it takes one through a carefully laid out series of steps from the beginning of inspiration through completed investigation and publication. It is an important resource for anyone reading or producing applied psychophysiology research because most training in research methods do not clearly address applied research.

Ratings and reviews

Best Book for undergraduate students of Psychophysiology

About the author

Richard A. Sherman received his doctorate in psychobiology from New York University in 1973. He has accrued over fifty years of experience teaching and performing research and clinical work in behavioral medicine and related fields. Much of this work was accomplished during his 22 years in the US Army from which he retired as a lieutenant colonel in the medical department. Dr. Sherman is recognized as a superb teacher and has given courses at virtually all levels of adult education including numerous undergraduate, medical resident, and graduate school courses as well as continuing education courses for clinical professionals in both on-site and distance-based formats. 

Dr. Sherman is best known for his work elucidating mechanisms and treatments for phantom limb pain, temporal relationships between changes in muscle tension and pain, and environmental studies on mechanisms of and behavioral treatments for headaches, low back pain, and urinary incontinence. This work has resulted in over 150 articles (mostly in peer-reviewed journals) and several books for both professionals and patients. His research has been supported by numerous private foundations, for-profit organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health.

He has been president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback twice. He founded the Behavioral Medicine Research and Training Foundation in 2000 and is currently its director. He developed the applied psychophysiology doctoral program in 2000 and moved it to Saybrook University where he is currently full-time faculty in the Department of Applied Psychophysiology.