Psychophysiological Methods for the Study of Developmental Psychopathology

This chapter begins with a discussion on the basic tenets and strengths of psychophysiological research, and covers those methods useful for examining cognitive processes. It then provides an overview of the methods used to examine the physiological organization of arousal and reactivity. The chapter talks about those methods that may be useful for examining motivation, emotion, and emotion regulation in children. The literature discussed in each of the three broad domains illustrates how the application of psychophysiological methods has contributed to the current understandings of individual differences in developmental trajectories generally and developmental psychopathology in particular. The chapter further talks about prepulse inhibition that has been used to tap into basic cognitive processes. It also focuses on electroencephalograms (ERPs) that have been used with greater frequency to explore the information-processing mechanisms thought to underlie various disorders.