Loucks, R. B. (1937). Reflexology and the psychobiological approach. Psychological Review, 44(4), 320-338.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0060693
The system of concepts formulated by Pavlov rests on the fundamental principle of irradiation of cortical excitations and inhibitions. This principle, which was derived by analogy with epileptoid disturbances resulting from strong electric shocks to the brain, is of doubtful value for interpreting normal psychobiological phenomena. Irradiation is assumed to be a gradually spreading disturbance requiring time; yet an analysis of six of Pavlov's conditioning experiments shows that inhibition appeared simultaneously in all points stimulated, which is incompatible with the hypothesis of irradiation. The experiment of Hull and Bass, purporting to confirm this hypothesis, confuses the concept of irradiation with that of gradient, since their composite curve represents one rather than successive time intervals. The author suggests that the term irradiation should no longer be applied to conditioning phenomena, because of its false connotations. The exclusively physiological viewpoint of Pavlov, with its oversimplification, should be replaced by a "psychobiological" viewpoint, which recognizes the complex features of behavior. Lepley's explanation of the forgetting curve, by identifying remote excitatory tendencies with trace conditioned reflexes, illustrates the abuse of this approach. We must recognize the limitations of existing objective techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)