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Charles S. Carver
University of Miami
What impulsive aggression, sensation seeking, and risk of depression have in common
A family of theories has arisen in psychology that assumes two simultaneous modes of processing experience, one more basic and reactive, the other more deliberative and planful. This presentation will relate those ideas to the functioning of the serotonergic system. The serotonin system has been studied for decades. Variation in serotonergic function relates to psychological and behavioral variability of several sorts, including impulsive aggression, borderline personality disorder, and depression. Dual-process models suggest a way to conceptualize these effects of serotonergic function: Specifically, serotonergic function may influence the balance of influence between the lower-order system that responds quickly to cues of the moment and the higher-order system that responds reflectively and planfully. Specifically, low serotonergic function seems to enhance the influence of the lower-order system, whereas higher serotonergic function seems to enhance the influence of the higher-order system. This hypothesis has a number of implications, both for normal variation in personality and for views of disorder. A underlying theme is that the dual-process model provides a useful vantage point on surprisingly diverse aspects of behavior.
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