Clinical/Community Division

Dr. Berenbaum's major research interests are in experimental psychopathology and emotions. In much of my research on emotion and psychopathology, I have been examining emotions that I believe have received less attention than they deserve, such as pleasure, disgust, and shame. We have found, for example, that hedonic capacity is influenced by genetic factors and that the deleterious effect of stress on hedonic capacity is moderated by family history of depression. We have also found that shame responses to interpersonal dilemmas are associated with depressive disorder and that disgust plays an important role in people*s aversive responses to insects. Another interest of mine is individual differences in the degree to which people attend to and are clear about their emotions. We have explored factors, such as genetic influences and childhood environment, that may contribute to emotional awareness. We have also been exploring how individual differences in emotional awareness are associated with several facets of psychopathology, such as schizotypal beliefs, bulimic symptoms, and worry.

One of my interests is in a personality dimension that I have labeled peculiarity. Individuals vary in the degree to which they have peculiar perceptions, beliefs, and experiences. For example, peculiar beliefs can range from believing that one's astrological sign can predict one's future to believing that Martians are responsible for one's poor fortunes at work. I am interested in the similarities and differences among different facets of peculiarity. I have hypothesized that whereas peculiarity is often associated with psychopathology it may also be associated with mental health benefits in at least some individuals. I have also been testing my hypothesis that psychological trauma, including childhood maltreatment, can contribute to elevated levels of peculiarity.

Representative Publications:

• Berenbaum, H., Thompson, R.J., & Bredemeier, K. (2007). Perceived threat: Exploring its association with worry and its hypothesized antecedents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2473-2482.
• Thompson, R.T., & Berenbaum, H. (2006). Shame reactions to everyday dilemmas are associated with depressive disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 415-425.
• Berenbaum, H., Boden, M.T., Baker, J.P., Dizen, M., Thompson, R.T., & Abramowitz, A. (2006). Emotional correlates of the different dimensions of schizotypal personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 359-368.
• Berenbaum, H., Valera, E.M., & Kerns, J.G. (2003). Psychological trauma and schizotypal symptoms. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29, 143-152.
• Berenbaum, H., Raghavan, C., Le, H.N., Vernon, L., & Gomez, J. (2003). A taxonomy of emotional disturbances. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 206-226.