A Neuropsychological Model Relating Self-Awareness to
Hostility
Heath A. Demaree1,2 and David W. Harrison1,3
Neuropsychology is an approach that may be
beneficial in the attempt to relate mental proc-
esses—awareness, behaviors, cognitions, and emo-
tions—to the brain, its structures, and processes
including arousal of brain systems (Heilman and Va-
lenstein, 1993). Rather than ignore the role of the
cortex, view the brain as a "black box," or vaguely
describe different cortical processes, neuropsychol-
ogy purportedly evaluates how and where compo-
nents of mental processes occur. In accordance with
Mill, this approach assumes that all mental processes
result from physical processes within the central
nervous system. Accordingly, a change in any mental
process is associated with changes in the brain's
physical state. Conversely, an altered brain state simi-
larly affects mental processes.
