The Barnard is a unit of measurement used in psychological, sociological and anthropological studies. It is named after the leader of the first team to outline its properties, Dr Victoria L Barnard.

Overview

Coined as a result of studies conducted by Dr V.L. Barnard et al. at John Radcliffe Hospital's psychiatric wing in Oxford, UK, the ‘Barnard’ (Bn) is a unit of perceived mental discomfort in sexual situations. Over a series of psychological experiments between 1998 and 2002, the team under Dr. Barnard studied over three hundred subjects in double-blind

Double-blind

A blind or blinded experiment is a scientific experiment where some of the people involved are prevented from knowing certain information that might lead to conscious or subconscious bias on their part, invalidating the results....

 psychological experiments.

In these studies, participants were asked a number of questions, both sexual

Human sexuality

Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...

 and otherwise, to gauge their discomfort in the face of such questions. As a further step, certain members of the team started to display overt sexual

Human sexuality

Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...

 excitement, including both audible and physical manifestations. The participant’s response was recording using both immediate testimony, galvanic skin response

Galvanic skin response

Skin conductance, also known as galvanic skin response , electrodermal response , psychogalvanic reflex , skin conductance response or skin conductance level , is a method of measuring the electrical conductance of the skin, which varies with its moisture level...

, EKGs and, in one study, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...

.

Using the data collected from the various studies, the team noticed a continuum of responses, encompassing apathy, sexual responsiveness/excitement, fear

Fear

Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...

 (including concomitant adrenal response) and anger

Anger

Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....

. It was posited by Dr Barnard that the continuum could be graduated using arbitrary units, in order to further understand levels of mental discomfort in tightly defined circumstances.

The completed write-ups of the study were first published in the European Journal of Cognitive Psychology (Vol 15, Issue 4, 2003), receiving a lukewarm response from other researchers in the field.

Criticism

Doubts have been expressed about both the arbitrary units involved in the study, and the qualitative standard of the studies taken as a whole. A particularly vociferous opponent of the study, and units, is Professor H.R.J Cleft of Dublin University. During the BPS Conference (Cognitive Section) conference held in Reigate in 2003, Professor Cleft took the opportunity to decry the Barnard team's findings, stating that 'the reductionist and positivist shroud of the study ensures that it will not be taken seriously by any reasonable psychologist.'

Future

As of the time of writing (2006) Dr Barnard is currently conducting further studies, including ethically guided field studies amongst a troop of gorillas in the Gambia. Preliminary results are expected early 2007.