Miller, Neal E.

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[[Category:Psychologists]]
 
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{{epname|Miller, Neal E.}}
 
{{epname|Miller, Neal E.}}
  
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'''Neal E. Miller''' (August 3, 1909 – March 23, 2002) was an [[United States|American]] [[psychology|psychologist]], instrumental in the development of [[biofeedback]]. Together with [[John Dollard]], he combined [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalitical]] theory with [[behaviorism]], trying to [[science|scientifically]] explain [[Freud]]ian idea of inner drives that motivate and influence human behavior.
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==Life==
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'''Neal E. Miller''' was born in Milwaukee, [[Wisconsin]].  He received a B.S. degree from the [[University of Washington]] (1931), an M.S. from [[Stanford University]] (1932), and a Ph.D. degree in [[Psychology]] from [[Yale University]] (1935).
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Miller was a [[social science]] research fellow at the Institute of Psychoanalysis, [[Vienna]] for one year (1935-36) before returning to Yale as a faculty member in 1936. He first became an assistant in research in psychology, and later a researcher in the University's Institute of Human Relations.
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During the [[World War II]], Miller served as an officer in charge of research in the Army Air Corps' Psychological Research Unit #1 in Nashville, [[Tennessee]]. After that he was director of the Psychological Research Project at the headquarters of the Flying Training Command in Randolph Field, [[Texas]].
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In 1950, Miller returned to Yale to become a professor of psychology and in 1952 he was appointed the James Rowland Angell Professor of Psychology. He spent total of 30 years at Yale (1936-1966).
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In 1966, Miller transferred to [[Rockefeller University]], where he spent additional 15 years of service. He became [[Emeritus|Professor Emeritus]] at Rockefeller in 1981 and Research Affiliate at Yale in 1985.
  
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'''Neal E. Miller''' (August 3, 1909 – March 23, 2002) was an [[United States|American]] [[psychologist]].  He was born in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]] in 1909. He received a B.S. degree from the [[University of Washington]] (1931), an M.S. from [[Stanford University]] (1932), and a Ph.D. degree in Psychology from [[Yale University]] (1935).He was a social science research fellow at the [[Institute of Psychoanalysis, Vienna]] for one year (1935-36) before returning to Yale as a faculty member in 1936.  He spent 30 years at Yale University (1936-1966), where he became the James Rowland Angell Professor of Psychology, and 15 more years at [[Rockefeller University]] (1966-1981) before becoming [[Emeritus|Professor Emeritus]] at Rockefeller (1981-?) and Research Affiliate at Yale (1985-?).
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Miller served as President of the [[American Psychological Association]] from 1960-61, and received the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1959 and the APA Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology in 1991. He also received the [[National Medal of Science]]. Miller was also president of the Society for Neurosciences, the Biofeedback Society of America and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.
  
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Miller was instrumental in the development of [[biofeedback]]. He discovered that even the autonomic nervous system could be susceptible to [[classical conditioning]].  
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Miller died on March 23, 2002, in Hamden, [[Connecticut]]. He is survived by his second wife, Jean Shepler and two children. His first wife Marion E. Edwards, died in 1997.
  
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Neal Miller along with [[John Dollard]] and [[Hobert Mowrer]] helped to integrate [[behavior|behavioral]] and [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]] concepts. They were able to translate pyschological analytic concepts into behavioral terms that would be more easily understood. These three men also recognized [[Sigmund Freud|Sigmund Freud's]] concept of [[anxiety]] as a "signal of danger" and that some things in Freud's work could be altered to fix this. Neal, John and Hobert believed that a person who was relieved of high anxiety levels would experience what is called "anxiety relief." The last thing these three men did was to realize that [[classical conditioning]] would be followed by [[operative conditioning]]. Classical conditioning is the process of using an established relationship between a stimulus and a response to cause the learning of the same response to a different stimulus. Operative conditioning is the improvement of performance by the transitory lengthening of the reinforcement period, meaning that a person would have to work through his anxiety in order to get a positive outcome.
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==Work==
  
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===Dollard-Miller Theory===
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During his early career Miller focused on research of [[Freud]]ian [[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytical]] theories and the combination of [[psychoanalysis]] and [[behaviorism]]. He wanted to translate psychological analytic concepts into behavioral terms that would be more easily to understand and that would be based in [[science|scientific]] facts. He was particularly studying [[unconscious]] drives, which according to Freud greatly influenced human behavior.
  
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Along with [[John Dollard]], Miller combined Freud’s ideas with [[learning]] theory. The two scientists recognized Freud's concept of [[anxiety]] and [[fear]] as [[secondary drive]]s (in contrast to [[primary drive]]s which are directly related to survival). As a secondary drive fear is learned, claimed Miller, and thus could be modified through [[instrumental conditioning]].
  
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==Major publications==
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Miller and Dollard coined the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis. In its original form it stated that frustration always causes aggression and aggression is always a consequence of frustration. However it was modified later into: “frustration can lead to aggression, and aggression can be caused by things other than frustration.” Miller proposed psychotherapy for aggression, frustration, or anxiety, in which people would learn more adaptive behaviors and unlearning maladaptive behaviors. Teaching relaxation techniques, coping skills, or effective discrimination of cues would be part of such therapy.
  
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Miller was among the first scientists who conducted research on rats in which he stimulated rat’s brains by using electricity or chemicals to produce such sensations as hunger or anxiety.
  
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Miller wrote four books: "Frustration and Aggression," "Social Learning and Imitation," "Personality and Psychotherapy," and "Graphic Communication and the Crisis in Education."
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===Biofeedback===
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After his work on anxiety, Miller started to investigate other autonomic behaviors, trying to find out if they could also be modified through instrumental conditioning. He investigated hunger and thirst, using behavioral methodologies and neurophysiological techniques. He concluded that autonomic nervous system could be as susceptible to [[classical conditioning]] as the voluntary nervous system. This led him to his work on biofeedback.  
  
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In the 1950s and 1960s Miller started to work on something that received high criticism in academic community. Miller proposed a theory that people can directly influence their bodily mechanisms, such as blood pressure, and that everybody can be taught to do so. In his obituary in the New York Times, Dr. James S. Gordon writes of the atmosphere surrounding Miller’s work:
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:” In 1961, when Neal Miller first suggested that the autonomic nervous system could be as susceptible to training as the voluntary nervous system, that people might learn to control their heart rate and bowel contractions just as they learned to walk or play tennis, his audiences were aghast. He was a respected researcher, director of a laboratory at Yale, but this was a kind of scientific heresy. Everyone 'knew' that the autonomic nervous system was precisely that: automatic, beyond our control." [http://www.yale.edu/opa/v30.n25/story11.html]
  
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==References==
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Miller was eventually able to prove his point, and biofeedback became gradually accepted in scientific circles as a method to help treat high blood pressure, migraines, or other medical conditions.
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* [http://www.yale.edu/opa/v30.n25/story11.html Noted psychologist Neal E. Miller, pioneer in research on brain and behavior, dies]
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==Legacy==
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Miller’s work contributed to our understanding of behavior and motivation and laid the foundation for the modern neuroscience. His work on biofeedback influenced generations of researchers in behavioral medicine, neuroscience and other fields. Biofeedback became recognized as a form of alternative medicine and is now used widely to help with different medical problems, including high blood pressure, epilepsy, ADHD, and some other conditions.  
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In 1993, the Board of Scientific Affairs decided to honor Miller by establishing the Annual Neal Miller Distinguished Lecture, dedicated to neuroscience and animal research and presented at each APA convention. In addition, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research established the Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award in his honor.
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==Publications==
  
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==External links==
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* Miller, Neil E. 1934. The perception of children: A genetic study employing the critical choice delayed reaction. Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 44, 321-339.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1942. A multi-purpose learning-demonstration apparatus. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 31, 163-170.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1948. Theory and experiment relating psychoanalytic displacement to stimulus-response generalization. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 43, 155-178.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1957. Experiments on motivation; studies combining psychological, physiological, and pharmacological techniques. Science, 126, 1271-1278.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1957. Graphic Communication and the Crisis in Education. National Education Association
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* Miller, Neil E. 1965. Chemical coding of behavior in the brain. Science, 148, 328-338.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1975. Clinical applications of biofeedback: Voluntary control of heart rate, rhythm, and blood pressure. In H. I. Russel (Ed.), New horizons in cardiovascular practice (pp. 239-249). Baltimore: University Park Press.
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* Miller, Neil E. 1980. A perspective on the effects of stress and coping on disease and health. In S. Levine & H. Ursin (Eds.), Coping and health (pp. 323-353). New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 0306404222
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* Miller, Neil E. 2003 (Original published in 1945). Social Learning and Imitation. Routledge. ISBN 0415177944
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* Miller, Neal E. 2007. Learning, motivation, and their physiological mechanisms. New Brunswick, NJ: AldineTransaction. ISBN 0202361438
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* Miller, Neil E. & Dollard, John. 1950. Personality and Psychotherapy: An Analysis in Terms of Learning, Thinking, and Culture. McGraw-Hill Book Company
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* Miller, Neal E., Dollard, John, Leonard William Doob, Orval Hobart Mowrer, and Robert R. Sears. 1939. Frustration and aggression. New Haven: Pub. for the Institute of human relations by Yale University Press.
  
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* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE7D7133CF937A25757C0A9649C8B63 NYTimes paid death notice]
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==References==
  
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* Coons, Edgar E. 2002. Neal Elgar Miller (1909-2002). American Psychologist, 57, 784-786.
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* Neal E. Miller. APA Online Archives, on <http://www.apa.org>. Retrieved on October 8, 2007, from <http://www.apa.org/archives/millerbio.html>
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* Noted psychologist Neal E. Miller, pioneer in research on brain and behavior, dies. Yale Bulletin and Calendar, on <http://www.yale.edu>. Retrieved on October 8, 2007, from <http://www.yale.edu/opa/v30.n25/story11.html>
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* Psychoanalytic Learning Theory: Dollard & Miller. University of Dayton, at <http://www.udayton.edu>. Retreived on October 8, 2007, <http://academic.udayton.edu/JohnKorte/361-handout-Dollard&Miller.htm>
  
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==External links==
  
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* [http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10810 Biofeedback] – Definition of Biofeedback on Medicine Net
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* [http://www.apa.org/archives/millerbiblio.html Complete bibliography] – List of all Miller’s works 
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* [http://www.andp.org/activities/miller.htm Dr. Neal Miller - 2000 Education Award Winner] – On Miller’s work in Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs
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* [http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/FrustAgg/miller.htm The Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis] by Neil E. Miller, first published in Psychological Review, 48, 337-342.
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* [http://mssa.library.yale.edu/findaids/stream.php?xmlfile=mssa.ms.1770.xml Preliminary Guide to the Neal E. Miller Papers] in Yale University library
  
 
{{Credits|Neal_E._Miller|154293572|}}
 
{{Credits|Neal_E._Miller|154293572|}}

Revision as of 05:57, 8 October 2007

Neal E. Miller (August 3, 1909 – March 23, 2002) was an American psychologist, instrumental in the development of biofeedback. Together with John Dollard, he combined psychoanalitical theory with behaviorism, trying to scientifically explain Freudian idea of inner drives that motivate and influence human behavior.

Life

Neal E. Miller was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Washington (1931), an M.S. from Stanford University (1932), and a Ph.D. degree in Psychology from Yale University (1935).

Miller was a social science research fellow at the Institute of Psychoanalysis, Vienna for one year (1935-36) before returning to Yale as a faculty member in 1936. He first became an assistant in research in psychology, and later a researcher in the University's Institute of Human Relations.

During the World War II, Miller served as an officer in charge of research in the Army Air Corps' Psychological Research Unit #1 in Nashville, Tennessee. After that he was director of the Psychological Research Project at the headquarters of the Flying Training Command in Randolph Field, Texas.

In 1950, Miller returned to Yale to become a professor of psychology and in 1952 he was appointed the James Rowland Angell Professor of Psychology. He spent total of 30 years at Yale (1936-1966).

In 1966, Miller transferred to Rockefeller University, where he spent additional 15 years of service. He became Professor Emeritus at Rockefeller in 1981 and Research Affiliate at Yale in 1985.

Miller served as President of the American Psychological Association from 1960-61, and received the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1959 and the APA Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology in 1991. He also received the National Medal of Science. Miller was also president of the Society for Neurosciences, the Biofeedback Society of America and the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.

Miller died on March 23, 2002, in Hamden, Connecticut. He is survived by his second wife, Jean Shepler and two children. His first wife Marion E. Edwards, died in 1997.

Work

Dollard-Miller Theory

During his early career Miller focused on research of Freudian psychoanalytical theories and the combination of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. He wanted to translate psychological analytic concepts into behavioral terms that would be more easily to understand and that would be based in scientific facts. He was particularly studying unconscious drives, which according to Freud greatly influenced human behavior.

Along with John Dollard, Miller combined Freud’s ideas with learning theory. The two scientists recognized Freud's concept of anxiety and fear as secondary drives (in contrast to primary drives which are directly related to survival). As a secondary drive fear is learned, claimed Miller, and thus could be modified through instrumental conditioning.

Miller and Dollard coined the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis. In its original form it stated that frustration always causes aggression and aggression is always a consequence of frustration. However it was modified later into: “frustration can lead to aggression, and aggression can be caused by things other than frustration.” Miller proposed psychotherapy for aggression, frustration, or anxiety, in which people would learn more adaptive behaviors and unlearning maladaptive behaviors. Teaching relaxation techniques, coping skills, or effective discrimination of cues would be part of such therapy.

Miller was among the first scientists who conducted research on rats in which he stimulated rat’s brains by using electricity or chemicals to produce such sensations as hunger or anxiety.

Biofeedback

After his work on anxiety, Miller started to investigate other autonomic behaviors, trying to find out if they could also be modified through instrumental conditioning. He investigated hunger and thirst, using behavioral methodologies and neurophysiological techniques. He concluded that autonomic nervous system could be as susceptible to classical conditioning as the voluntary nervous system. This led him to his work on biofeedback.

In the 1950s and 1960s Miller started to work on something that received high criticism in academic community. Miller proposed a theory that people can directly influence their bodily mechanisms, such as blood pressure, and that everybody can be taught to do so. In his obituary in the New York Times, Dr. James S. Gordon writes of the atmosphere surrounding Miller’s work:

” In 1961, when Neal Miller first suggested that the autonomic nervous system could be as susceptible to training as the voluntary nervous system, that people might learn to control their heart rate and bowel contractions just as they learned to walk or play tennis, his audiences were aghast. He was a respected researcher, director of a laboratory at Yale, but this was a kind of scientific heresy. Everyone 'knew' that the autonomic nervous system was precisely that: automatic, beyond our control." [1]

Miller was eventually able to prove his point, and biofeedback became gradually accepted in scientific circles as a method to help treat high blood pressure, migraines, or other medical conditions.

Legacy

Miller’s work contributed to our understanding of behavior and motivation and laid the foundation for the modern neuroscience. His work on biofeedback influenced generations of researchers in behavioral medicine, neuroscience and other fields. Biofeedback became recognized as a form of alternative medicine and is now used widely to help with different medical problems, including high blood pressure, epilepsy, ADHD, and some other conditions.

In 1993, the Board of Scientific Affairs decided to honor Miller by establishing the Annual Neal Miller Distinguished Lecture, dedicated to neuroscience and animal research and presented at each APA convention. In addition, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research established the Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award in his honor.

Publications

  • Miller, Neil E. 1934. The perception of children: A genetic study employing the critical choice delayed reaction. Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 44, 321-339.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1942. A multi-purpose learning-demonstration apparatus. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 31, 163-170.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1948. Theory and experiment relating psychoanalytic displacement to stimulus-response generalization. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 43, 155-178.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1957. Experiments on motivation; studies combining psychological, physiological, and pharmacological techniques. Science, 126, 1271-1278.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1957. Graphic Communication and the Crisis in Education. National Education Association
  • Miller, Neil E. 1965. Chemical coding of behavior in the brain. Science, 148, 328-338.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1975. Clinical applications of biofeedback: Voluntary control of heart rate, rhythm, and blood pressure. In H. I. Russel (Ed.), New horizons in cardiovascular practice (pp. 239-249). Baltimore: University Park Press.
  • Miller, Neil E. 1980. A perspective on the effects of stress and coping on disease and health. In S. Levine & H. Ursin (Eds.), Coping and health (pp. 323-353). New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 0306404222
  • Miller, Neil E. 2003 (Original published in 1945). Social Learning and Imitation. Routledge. ISBN 0415177944
  • Miller, Neal E. 2007. Learning, motivation, and their physiological mechanisms. New Brunswick, NJ: AldineTransaction. ISBN 0202361438
  • Miller, Neil E. & Dollard, John. 1950. Personality and Psychotherapy: An Analysis in Terms of Learning, Thinking, and Culture. McGraw-Hill Book Company
  • Miller, Neal E., Dollard, John, Leonard William Doob, Orval Hobart Mowrer, and Robert R. Sears. 1939. Frustration and aggression. New Haven: Pub. for the Institute of human relations by Yale University Press.

References
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External links

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