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Soc Sci'ts have made broad-guage studies of changes in & functions of consumer taste, but a close study of change in specific tastes, or of how a fad becomes a style or fashion has not been made. In a pioneer experiment Maslow engaged 15 S's in tasks for 2-hours each day on 10 successive days, in a familiar setting which in the last few sessions was changed periodically according to the S's preferences. Results showed that familiarity with items created liking for some but not for others. In a later study by Krugman of the effect of listening to swing & classical music when initial familiarity with the 2 types differ, it is shown that when familiarity leads to liking of items of a category, a combination of familiarity & liking can produce liking for the category: moreover, liking for the new is related to the number of exposures. In a more recent study Hartley more closely examined the relationship between familiarity & liking for items & its generalization to categories of items; types of categories were also included in the design to determine diff's in the probability of item to category generalization. 23 S's rated each of 10 paintings - oriental, modern, portrait, floral & landscape in type - on a 5-point scale of familiarity & then on 5-point scale of liking. 5 times in the following 4 weeks the S's were asked to study 5 other paintings - one for each category - & to rate them for clarity. After these familiarization exposures the original test paintings were re-rated for familiarity & liking. Before & after ratings were compared & familiarity with items was found to create familiarity with the category: however, this might or might not lead to liking for the category depending on whether psychol'al room for increased familiarity exists (orientals), on the relationship between familiarity & liking for individual items (florals), on the popularity of the category (moderns), & possibly on other factors not measured. C. M. Coughenour.

There are physical diff's between the typically passive learning from TV & the more active classroom types of learning. A moving stimulus such as films or TV relieves the 0 of the effort of attention, while an inanimate stimulus requires the 0 to repeatedly bring his attention back to the stimulus as it repeatedly wanders away. The relaxing qualities of animate stimuli may be enhanced by particular rates of stimulation that drive brain wave responses down to so-called Alpha rhythms in the 8-12 cycle per second range. Provided the O has no conflict or tension about such exposure, he may be aided by specially designed films or programs to achieve such goals as giving up smoking, losing weight, controlling drinking habits, etc. In general, TV has enabled the public to learn a great deal about serious world matters-& this has been possible in part because such learning could be done calmly, without excitement & without effort. This is M. McLuhan's 'cool' medium. AA.