THE ROLE OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

To analyze the contribution of experimental psychology to the analysis of psychopathology, general conceptions of abnormal behavior are first examined. It is concluded that a psychobiological formulation is the most adequate; it suggests that complete knowledge of psychopathology requires that: (a) predisposing factors are specified, (b) events initiating acute episodes of psychopathology are isolated, and (c) scientifically valid descriptions of the mechanisms mediating the effects of factors (a) and (b) can be put forward. To be able to specify these three factors, it is necessary to seek data illuminating psychopathology from three different levels: (a) epidemiological data, (b) clinical data, and (c) data from experimental analogue studies. By developing experimental analogues, experimental psychologists can develop paradigms modeling important aspects of psychopathology. Such models have a critical role in developing theoretical notions about the mechanisms mediating psychopathology, and may suggest relationships to predisposing factors and initiating events. However, their empirical tests require data from the two levels other than from the experimental analogue. Thus, although principles from experimental psychology may have a critical role in incrementing knowledge about psychopathology, they must be supplemented by data from other observation domains in order to generate clinically applicable knowledge.