Abnormal Psychology

Understanding Psychological Disorders: The Neuropsychosocial Approach 57

sistent with their negative view of themselves, their past, and their future (Mezulis

et al., 2004). This bias, although present in all cultures, is less evident among

members of Asian cultures than among members of Western cultures (Mezulis

et al., 2004), perhaps because members of Asian cultures often tend to attribute

positive events to the efforts of groups of people, not a single individual.

And, of course, emotion can affect the sorts of attributions we make. For

instance, Walter Scott and colleagues (2003) found that, among depressed individu-

als, those who were irritable and hostile were more likely to blame their negative

life events on others, whereas those who were predominantly sad were more likely

to blame themselves for such negative events.

Emotions, Moods, and Psychological Disorders

Many psychological disorders are marked by impaired or inappropriate emo-

tions, emotional experiences, or emotional expression. For example, excesses

of mood, as occur in depression (prolonged and profound sadness) and mania

(prolonged and inappropriate elation or euphoria), are part of mood disorders.

And schizophrenia can involve fl at affect—defi cits in emotion expression. Fur-

thermore, some dissociative disorders, which involve a separation of normally

integrated mental processes, include the absence of the normal emotional experi-

ences (Hunter et al., 2003).

Some psychological disorders, such as those that involve high levels of fear or

anxiety, often are accompanied by emotions or moods that don’t fi t the context

in which they arise (Davidson, Jackson, & Klein, 2000). We are all likely to feel

anxious and afraid if faced with a car that seems to be out of control and barrel-

ing toward us, but most of us will not experience that same level of anxiety or fear

when simply driving across a bridge, giving a presentation, seeing a spider, or get-

ting a tetanus shot. As we shall see in Chapter 7, some people do experience such

misplaced emotions.

In addition, psychological disorders may arise from or produce diffi culty in

regulating emotions—such as an inability to dampen down anxiety when its in-

tensity is inappropriate. Diffi culty in regulating emotions and related thoughts and

behaviors can lead to three types of problems (Cicchetti & Toth, 1991; Weisz et al.,

1997): (1) Externalizing problems are characterized by too little control of emo-

tion and related behaviors, such as aggression, and by disruptive behavior. They

are called externalizing problems because their primary effects are on others and/

or their environment; these problems are usually observable to others. (2) Internal-

izing problems are characterized by negative internal experiences, such as anxiety,

social withdrawal, and depression. Internalizing problems are so named because

their primary effect is on the troubled individual rather than on others; such prob-

lems are generally less observable to others. (3) Other problems include emotional

or behavioral problems that do not fi t into these categories. This “other” category

includes eating disorders and learning disorders (Achenbach et al., 1987; Kazdin &

Weisz, 1998).

Significant difficulty in regulating emotions can begin in childhood and last

through adulthood, forming the basis for some disorders. For example, personality

disorders are infl exible and maladaptive stable personality traits that lead to distress

or dysfunction (Gratz et al., 2006). As we discuss in Chapter 13, several personality

disorders are characterized by diffi culties in emotional regulation, marked by im-

pulsive behavior or rapid changes in emotion. Problems in regulating emotion can

also occur in some forms of eating disorders and substance-related disorders (Sim &

Zeman, 2005; Thorberg & Lyvers, 2006).

Brain Bases of Emotion

Emotion is a psychological response, but it is also a neurological response. We can

learn much about the psychological aspects of emotion by considering how it arises

from brain function. For example, research by Richard Davidson and colleagues,

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