Psychophysiological Assessment of Psychopathology

Although psychophysiological methods are often used to assess physiological symptoms accompanying behavior disorders, they are rarely used to assess psychopathology in disorders that do not have identified physiological concomitants. This article lays the foundation for such an application of psychophysiology, with the aim of encouraging the development of procedures that may prove effective in the assessment of individuals with various disorders, symptoms, and traits. Several examples of how psychophysiology might be used to achieve this objective are presented. These include illustrations that focus on diagnostic classification, differential diagnosis, the identification of risk for a disorder, and the assessment of memory and emotion.