The extent to which second year medical students increased their positivity to psychiatry and changed their orientation toward the patient as a person, following a Behavioral Science course, was measured in two successive years. Mastery of the cognitive aspects of the course was also assessed. While performance significantly improved on the Behavioral Science part of the National Boards, no change in attitudes was demonstrated. Further study revealed that entering medical students were more negative in their attitudes toward psychiatry than was the general population and that students shared with the psychiatry department faculty a fairly negative view of patients and psychiatrists. A number of factors are proposed as sources of difficulty in promoting a humanistic orientation in the pre-clinical years. It is suggested that clues to overcoming these difficulties lie in the systematic investigation of physician-patient behavior in a natural setting, such as a doctor's office. By increasing understanding of the day-to-day practice of medicine, the focus of teaching in Behavioral Science can be directed toward those things a physician needs to know. (Author)