Objective: To examine the strengths and weaknesses of cognitive psychopathology through the specific examples of the memory impairments associated with the administration of benzodiazepines, with schizophrenia, and with depression.
Method: These examples are analyzed with reference to a model of memory based on the principle of division between specialized and central processing structures. A basic contention is that it is useful to consider 2 broad classes of processes-automatic, associative, or sensory/perceptual processes on the one hand and intentional, strategic, or reflective processes on the other hand-as being separate.
Results: The functional mechanisms of the memory impairments associated with these conditions are beginning to be identified, and there is preliminary evidence that a deficit in an elementary computation may have dramatic consequences on highest cognitive functions. There is also evidence that certain memory impairments are linked to specific dysfunctional outcomes in everyday life. By showing that specific rate-limiting factors of cognitive performance can be identified and are amenable to cognitive interventions, existing data open the door for theoretically and empirically based cognitive remediation of mental disorders.
Conclusion: The bulk of available evidence (albeit limited) makes the enterprise of cognitive psychopathology quite plausible and convincing.