When a molecule, which possess a permanent dipole moment is exposed to an intense electric field, its absorption spectrum may be altered. These alterations are manifest as shifts in energy and as changes in band shape and intensity. The electric dichroism of absorption bands can be used to probe the excited state that is formed when a molecule undergoes a transition. The properties that may be investigated include transition polarization, excited state dipole moment and mean polarizability, and field-induced mixing of symmetrically equivalent excited states. The theoretical model and experimental devices that have been developed to determine these properties are presented and discussed. The data, taken in total, and its combination with other existing evidence, adds credence to the assignment of the second excited singlet of aldehydes and ketones to be extravalent, accompanied by relatively large delocalization of electronic charge, and polarized in-planiie and perpendicularly to the C-0 axis.