The essential information about the background and content of this book were provided quite satisfactorily on the jacket covering the book:
The University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1953 initiated an outpatient faculty, called the General Medical Clinic, for the purpose of teaching and demonstrating the principles of comprehensive medical care to senior medical students. The senior class was therefore divided, with one half participating in the General Medical Clinic and the other half in the regular course of study.
The Behavior Research Laboratory of the University then began a five-year research project designed to study the effects of the experimental program.