Roland Clark Davis
Born(1902-12-20)December 20, 1902
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 23, 1961(1961-02-23) (aged 58)
Yellow Springs, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Virginia
Indiana University
Doctoral advisorRobert S. Woodworth
Albert Poffenberger
Doctoral studentsOran Wendle Eagleson

Roland Clark Davis (December 20, 1902– February 23, 1961) was an American psychologist recognized for his innovation in instrumentation and measurement of electrophysiological phenomena.[1] Davis contributed to the measurement of electrodermal activity, gastric reflexes, and muscle action potentials.[2] Davis published over 70 articles on psychophysiology and related topics across a 30-year career[3][2] and mentored many graduate students at Indiana University Bloomington from 1931 through 1961.[4]

Personal history

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 30, 1902,[5] Roland Clark Davis was the eldest child of William Chalmers Davis and Effie Estelle Clark.[6] Davis earned his A.B. in English from Harvard in 1924 and his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1930.[7] Upon leaving Columbia, Davis briefly worked as a research associate for the University of Virginia.[7] Davis married Francis Oliver Meacham on September 12, 1927, in Petersburg, Virginia.[8] They had two children, Susan Oliver and Christopher Meacham.[7] In 1931, Davis was hired as an Acting Associate Professor at Indiana University[4] where he established his psychophysiology laboratory in Science Hall.[1] Davis died on February 23, 1961, at the age of 58 in Yellow Springs, Ohio.[9] He was returning home from a meeting at the Fels Research Institute when he suffered a heart attack.[1][2]

Professional contributions

At Columbia, Davis was mentored by Robert Sessions Woodworth and Albert Poffenberger.[1] In his 1930 dissertation, “Factors Affecting the Galvanic Reflex,” Davis reviewed hundreds of published articles on the galvanic skin response (GSR), producing an extensive and systematic review of GSR.[10]

Davis was the first to use a vacuum tube as a way to control the electrical current during measurement of the GSR.[11] Davis also developed a device that provided an uninterrupted measurement of arterial blood pressure that would not interfere with the subject’s true blood pressure,[12] and he is credited with introducing the cathode-ray oscilloscope technique for measuring muscle action potentials.[1] In collaboration with Douglas Ellson, Irving Saltzman, and Cletus Burke, Davis also developed a lie-detection device.[13][2]

Using gastric balloons and a landmine detector to track the progress of steel balls through the gastrointestinal tracts of volunteers, Davis produced evidence that stomach contractions were largely absent when the stomach was empty, a finding that directly refuted the popular hypothesis of the time that hunger produced the most intense stomach contractions.[2] Davis also used the electrogastrogram (EGG) to study the effects of particular drugs on gastric activity.[1]

Davis also challenged the theory of homeostasis,[14] arguing that the relevant terms needed to be more precisely defined and that responses could be adaptive even if they were not homeostatic:“Homeostasis can be maintained for one variable only at the expense of heterostasis in at least one other”.[1]

Teaching and Leadership

Davis was recognized as a leader in the Department of Psychology, and he was one of the few members of the senior faculty to remain in his position through World War II.[4] Davis was also one of the founding members of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.[2] At Indiana University, Davis directed the master's and doctoral theses of 29 graduate students, including Oran Wendle Eagleson.[4]

Notable publications

Electrodermal Activity

A Vacuum Tube for Stabilizing the Current During Measurements of the Galvanic Reflex (1929) [11]
Factors Affecting the Galvanic Reflex (1930) [10]
Electrical Skin Resistance Before, During, and After a Period of Noise Stimulation (1932) [15]
Modification of the Galvanic Reflex by Daily Repetition of a Stimulus (1934) [16]

Homeostasis and Response Patterning

Apparatus for Recording Autonomic States and Changes (1954) [17]
Response Patterns (1957) [18]
An Exploration of Somatic Response Patterns: Stimulus and Sex Differences (1957) [12] The Pattern of Somatic Response During a Repetitive Motor Task and its Modification by Visual Stimuli (1957) [19]
The Domain of Homeostasis (1958) [14]

Action Potentials

A Cathode-Ray Oscilloscope Apparatus for the Psychological Laboratory (1931) [20]
Properties of Electrodes Used in Recording Action Potentials from the Intact Organism (1936) [21]
Methods of Measuring Muscle Tension (1942) [22]
An Integrator and Accessory Apparatus for Recording Action Potentials (1948) [23]
Adaptation of the Muscular Tension Response to Gunfire (1949) [24]
Autonomic and Muscular Response and Their Relationship to Simple Stimuli (1955) [25]

History of Psychology

American Psychology 1800-1885 (1936) [26]
Physiological Psychology: A View of Fifty Years (1958) [27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gabbay, F.H..; Stern, R. M. (2012). "A quiet voice: Roland Clark Davis and the emergence of psychophysiology". Psychophysiology. 49 (4): 443–453. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01339.x. PMID 22292730.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bernal, M.; Abraham, F. (1970). "For distinguished contribution to psychophysiology: Chester Darrow and R. C. Davis". Psychophysiology: 611–616.
  3. ↑ Holguin, S. R.; Cadaveira, F. (2002). "Consolidation of psychophysiology as a scientific discipline: 1930—1964: A historical note". Psychophysiology. 39 (5): 619–624. doi:10.1111/1469-8986.3950619. hdl:10347/22257. PMID 12236328.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Capshew, J. H. (1988). "The legacy of the laboratory 1888-1988: A history of the department of psychology at Indiana University". Psychology at Indiana University: A Centennial Review and Compendium (Bloomington: Indiana University Department of Psychology: 1–83.
  5. ↑ "Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXHJ-3BT : 10 March 2018), Robert Clark Davis, 30 Dec 1902, Cambridge, Massachusetts; citing reference ID #p345 ln1376, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,057,388.
  6. ↑ Ancestry.com. "1920 Federal Census [database on-line]". Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images Reproduced by FamilySearch.
  7. 1 2 3 Thompson, D.E. (1981). Indiana authors and their books 1967-1980. Crawfordsville, IN: Wabash College.
  8. ↑ Ancestry.com. "Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 [database on-line]". Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
  9. ↑ Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health. "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-2007 [database on-line]". Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
  10. 1 2 Davis, R.C. (1930). "Factors affecting the galvanic reflex". Archives of Psychology: 5–64.
  11. 1 2 Davis, R.C. (1929). "A vacuum tube for stabilizing the current during measurements of the galvanic reflex". American Journal of Psychology. 41 (3): 474–475. doi:10.2307/1414689. JSTOR 1414689.
  12. 1 2 Davis, R.C. (1957). "Continuous recording of arterial pressure: An analysis of the problem". Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. 50 (5): 524–529. doi:10.1037/h0044381. PMID 13481196.
  13. ↑ McRobbie, M.A. (2009). "Incubating excellence at Indiana University". Speech Presented at Indiana University Innovation Center Dedication in University Gym.
  14. 1 2 Davis, R.C. (1958). "The domain of homeostasis". Psychological Review. 65 (1): 8–13. doi:10.1037/h0045358. PMID 13505977.
  15. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1932). "Electrical skin resistance before, during, and after a period of noise stimulation". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 15: 108–117. doi:10.1037/h0072828.
  16. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1934). "Modification of the galvanic reflex by daily repetition of a stimulus". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 17 (4): 504–535. doi:10.1037/h0074305.
  17. ↑ Davis, R.C.; Siddons, G.F.; Stout, G. (1954). "Apparatus for recording autonomic states and changes". American Journal of Psychology. 67 (2): 343–352. doi:10.2307/1418639. JSTOR 1418639. PMID 13158653.
  18. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1957). "Response patterns". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 19: 731–739. doi:10.1111/j.2164-0947.1957.tb00564.x.
  19. ↑ Davis, R.C.; Lundervold, A.; Miller, J.D. (1957). "The pattern of somatic response during a repetitive motor task and its modification by visual stimuli". Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. 50 (1): 53–60. doi:10.1037/h0045021. PMID 13406139.
  20. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1931). "A cathode-ray oscilloscope apparatus for the psychological laboratory". Journal of General Psychology: 107–115. doi:10.1080/00221309.1931.9918382.
  21. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1936). "Properties of electrodes used in recording action potentials from the intact organism". American Journal of Psychology: 693–695.
  22. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1942). "Methods of measuring muscle tension". Psychological Bulletin. 39 (6): 329–346. doi:10.1037/h0056298.
  23. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1948). "An integrator and accessory apparatus for recording action potentials". American Journal of Psychology. 61 (1): 100–104. doi:10.2307/1417298. JSTOR 1417298. PMID 18908896.
  24. ↑ Davis, R.C.; Van Liere, D.W. (1949). "Adaptation of the muscular tension response to gunfire". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 39 (1): 114–117. doi:10.1037/h0061223. PMID 18111565.
  25. ↑ Davis, R.C.; Buchwald, A.M.; Frankmann, R.W. (1955). "Autonomic and muscular responses, and their relation to simple stimuli". Psychological Monographs: General and Applied. 69 (20): 1–71. doi:10.1037/h0093734.
  26. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1936). "American Psychology 1800–1885". Psychological Review. 43 (6): 471–493. doi:10.1037/h0056118.
  27. ↑ Davis, R.C. (1958). "Physiological psychology: A view of fifty years". In G. H. Seward & J. P. Seward (Eds.),Current Psychological Issues: Essaysin Honor of Robert S. Woodworth: 249–277.
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