title: Psychopathology arises from intertemporal bargaining as well as from emotional trauma.
abstract: The role of emotional trauma in psychopathology is limited. One additional mechanism is predictable from hyperbolic discounting: When a person uses willpower to control urges each success or failure takes on extra significance through recursive self-prediction, potentially motivating several constricting defense mechanisms. The need for eliciting emotion in psychotherapy is as the authors say it is, but their hypothesis about reconsolidation of memories adds no explanatory power.
authors.affiliation: School of Economics,University of Cape Town,Rondebosch 7701,South Africa;151 Veterans Affairs Medical Center,Coatesville,PA 19320.george.ainslie@va.govhttp://www.picoeconomics.org.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ainslie
mesh_terms: D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D000067073:Psychological Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D011599:Psychopathology / Q000379:methods*