The effect of psychopharmacologic agents on behavior, measured by the interaction chronograph

Abstract

This study is concerned with the objective measurement of drug‐induced changes in interview behavior by means of the interaction chronograph, a device which allows an observer to record in time units with a high degree of precision the behavioral interaction of two individuals during a standardized interview in which the interviewer follows certain predetermined rules of interviewing. The background and details of the method are described. Sixty new patients, selected by chance from the Washington University Psychiatry Clinic, were given one of three possible drugs in a double blind procedure. They were subjected to a test‐retest interview, using a standardized interview as a research tool and the interaction chronograph as the measure of response. Analysis of the data revealed statistically significant difference in the chlorpromazine group and no significant difference in the phenobarbital and placebo groups. The limitations and possibilities of the method are discussed.