Effects of self-esteem manipulation on arousal and reactions to sad models in depressed and nondepressed college students.

24 depressed and 24 nondepressed college students were given spurious feedback, either positive or negative, about the results of personality tests. They then watched a film of an intensive encounter group. Psychophysiological reactions to both feedback and observation of sad film models were recorded. Depressed Ss showed greater arousal than nondepressed Ss only after negative feedback. Depressed Ss reacted emotionally to the sad models after negative feedback; nondepressed Ss, after positive feedback. Arousal results indicate that depressed Ss were particularly reactive to a "loss" of self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective recall of positive and negative feedback, self-control behaviors, and depression.

Tested 2 sets of hypotheses, derived from cognitive–behavioral theories of depression, that (a) compared to a sample of nondepressed controls, depressed Ss would underestimate the frequency of reinforcement and overestimate the frequency of punishment received during an ambiguous laboratory task; and (b) when given the opportunity to self-reinforce or self-punish, depressed Ss would self-reinforce less often and self-punish more often than controls. Three of these predictions were supported. In an experiment with 24 depressed and 21 nondepressed undergraduates (Beck Depression Inventory), depressed Ss recalled less positive and more negative feedback than controls. As expected, these differences were significant only at a high rate of reinforcement and at a low rate of punishment. In the latter condition, however, depressed Ss were accurate in their recall, while nondepressed Ss underestimated the frequency of negative feedback. Depressed Ss self-reinforced less often than controls, but there were no differences in rates of self-punishment. Implications for cognitive and behavioral theories of depression are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-schemas and risk for depression: A prospective study.

Two longitudinal experiments with 375 undergraduates investigated the role of depressive self-schemas in vulnerability to depression. Ss were divided into 5 groups hypothesized to be at differential risk for depression according to a schema model: depressed schematic, depressed nonschematic, nondepressed schematic, nondepressed nonschematic, and psychopathology control. In Exp I, Ss were followed regularly for 4 mo with self-report and clinical interview measures of depression (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory). There was no evidence of risk for depression associated with schema status apart from initial mood and no interaction of life stress events and schemas. In Exp II, links among self-schemas, information processing, and mood status were investigated. It was shown that depressive self-schemas did not exert an ongoing, active influence on everyday information processing; instead, current mood affected information processing. Remitted depressed Ss resembled nondepressed rather than depressed Ss. Findings support the distinction between concomitant and vulnerability schemas noted by N. Kuiper et al (in press) and help to clarify differences between cognitions that are symptoms of depression and those that may play a causal role under certain conditions. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal betrayal and cooperation: Effects on self-evaluation in depression.

Assessed the effect of interpersonal betrayal and cooperative social interaction on self-evaluation processes among 54 female undergraduates scored as depressed or nondepressed on the Self-Rating Depression Scale. Depressed Ss who experienced interpersonal betrayal in a prisoner's dilemma game were more critical of their performance on a subsequent task than were nondepressed Ss or depressed Ss who had experienced a cooperative interaction. Depressed Ss in the betrayal condition also behaved more aggressively toward their betraying partner than did nondepressed betrayed Ss. Depressed Ss were more critical of their own personality characteristics than were nondepressed Ss, regardless of condition. Results suggest that some negative cognitive schema among depressed persons may be altered by interpersonal factors, although it is not clear whether such effects are secondary to increases in self-criticism after conflict or to decreases in self-critical tendencies after positive interaction. Researchers are urged to use multiple, diverse measures of self-evaluation in future efforts to study variability in self-appraisal. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and the impression-formation continuum: Piecemeal processing despite the availability of category information.

A study explored depressed–nondepressed differences in impression formation. From S. T. Fiske and S. L. Neuberg's (1990) model of impression formation, mildly depressed perceivers were hypothesized to engage in more piecemeal processing when forming an impression of a target other, even when nondepressed perceivers would typically use less effortful, categorical processing. With an idiographic technique designed by M. A. Pavelchak (see record 1989-18928-001), depressed Ss were shown to use trait attributes in evaluating a person, even when induced to categorize the individual. Nondepressed Ss relied on category information when available, replicating Pavelshak's study. Depressed Ss' results are interpreted as arising from a motivation to engage in effortful analysis of social information, stemming from feelings of lack of control over life events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive self-presentation: Beyond self-handicapping.

An experiment was conducted to examine the notion that depressives' responses would reflect a protective self-presentation style (M. G. Hill et al, 1986), the underlying goal of which would be the avoidance of future performance demands and potential losses in self-esteem. In this study, depressed and nondepressed Ss were asked to perform a relatively simple visual–motor task. Half of the depressed and half of the nondepressed Ss were told that if they were successful at the task, they would be asked to perform a 2nd similar task. The remaining Ss were given no such expectation of future performance. We predicted and found that depressed compared with nondepressed Ss strategically failed at the task when presented with the possibility of future performance and further losses in esteem. Moreover, this strategic failure was associated with some costs; depressed, future performance expectancy Ss experienced more discomfort or negative affect as a result of their performance. The relationship between this depressive self-presentation and self-handicapping strategies is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective valence and memory in depression: Dissociation of recall and fragment completion.

Depressed (n?=?16) and nondepressed (n?=?16) Ss' memory for affectively valenced words was assessed by an explicit test (free recall) and an implicit test (word fragment completion). Under free-recall instructions, depressed Ss recalled significantly more negatively valenced than positively valenced words, whereas the opposite pattern was observed in nondepressed control Ss. These results replicate those previously reported in the literature. The differential effect of word valence was absent, however, when memory was tested implicitly: Depressed and nondepressed Ss exhibited equivalent priming of positive and negative words. These data are discussed in terms of the J. M. Williams et al (1988) model of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative and positive cognition in depressed and nondepressed chronic-pain patients.

Examined negative and positive automatic thoughts and attributional style in 60 men (aged 21–64 yrs) who were depressed chronic-low-back-pain (CLBP) patients, nondepressed CLBP patients, or healthy controls. Ss completed measures that included the Attribution Style Questionnaire and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (S. D. Hollon and P. C. Kendall; see record 1981-20180-001). Depressed Ss exhibited significantly more negative automatic thoughts than nondepressed Ss and controls. Nondepressed Ss reported significantly more positive automatic thoughts than did depressed Ss and controls. No significant differences were found for attributional style. Different cognitive-behavioral interventions might be considered for depressed and nondepressed CLBP Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and perceived reinforcement: A reconsideration.

Evidence for the depressed S's hypersensitivity to any feedback about his performance and for the reversibility of depression-based perceptual deficits suggests that the depressed S can perceive response–reinforcement contingencies correctly, but only if given unassailable evidence of the efficacy of his actions. A high rate of response-contingent reinforcement is one instance of such evidence. The authors predicted that depressed Ss would misperceive skill task rewards under low- but not under high-reinforcement conditions. Changes in verbalized expectancies of success on skill and chance tasks at either 50 or 75% reinforcement rate were compared for 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed college students. Contrary to prediction, depressed Ss in no way differed from the nondepressed on the skill task at 50% reinforcement, and they produced larger expectancy changes on the chance task than did nondepressed Ss at 75% reinforcement. Results argue against the view that the depressed person misperceives response reinforcement contingencies, and they suggest instead that the depressed person overgeneralizes from any experience of success or failure in forming expectations for future successes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responses to depressed individuals: Discrepancies between self-report and observer-rated behavior.

Examined the behavior, mood, and perceptions of 40 nondepressed female undergraduates (Ss) interacting with 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed female undergraduates (targets). Ss tried to get to know the targets and then completed questionnaires including the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Following the interaction, Ss who spoke with depressed targets did not differ from Ss who interacted with nondepressed targets with respect to either self-reported mood or willingness to engage in further contact with their partners. However, Ss who interacted with depressed targets smiled less often, demonstrated less arousal and pleasantness in their facial expressions, exhibited less positive and more negative content in their conversations, and made fewer statements of direct support to the targets. Depressed targets offered fewer statements of direct support to their partners and talked about more negative content in their interactions. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive theory and the generality of pessimism among depressed persons.

38 depressed (as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory) and 52 nondepressed college students were given a series of anagrams to solve. A 1-chance subgroup was informed that they would win a free movie ticket if they were successful in the task. A 2nd-chance subgroup received the same instructions as the 1-chance subgroup but were also informed that if they failed, they would have another opportunity in a different, undefined task. Ss were subdivided into success and failure subgroups that either succeeded at or failed the anagram task. Immediately afterwards, Ss reported their emotional state on the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Depressed Ss reported greater depression, anxiety, and hostility than nondepressed Ss in the 1-chance condition but not in the 2nd-chance condition; this interaction occurred independent of Ss' success or failure in the task. Results are viewed as indicating that current cognitive theories about the generality of pessimism in depression are incomplete. An explanation of the results in terms of the saliency of future reward opportunity is suggested as a basis for further study. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and information processing: Self-schemata and the encoding of self-referent information.

Tested the suggestion made by cognitive theorists that in depression, negative environmental events can activate self-schemata that structure the processing of information in a negative fashion. Either success or failure feedback was provided to 23 depressed and 24 nondepressed female undergraduates (determined by Beck Depression Inventory scores), and the personal favorability of trait adjectives recalled in a depth-of-processing paradigm was examined. At the self-referent processing level, depressed Ss did not respond to success feedback by processing and recalling more favorable self-references, while nondepressed Ss did so respond. These findings suggest that depressed individuals suffer from a deficit in the ability to activate positive self-schemata with which to process positive self-relevant information and not necessarily from an oversensitivity in the processing of negative information. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schematic and situational determinants of depressed and nondepressed students' interpretation of feedback.

We examined whether depressed persons' social skill deficits contribute to their negative cognitions and whether this contribution is independent of their negative schemata. Depressed (n?=?60) and nondepressed (n?=?60) Ss engaged in group discussions. We assessed Ss' social competence schemata with a questionnaire and Ss' actual level of social competence in the discussion through objective ratings made by codiscussants and outside observers. We found that independently of their negative schemata, depressed Ss' social skill deficits explained a significant portion of the variance in their more negative interpretation of feedback (relative to nondepressed Ss'). This suggests that real deficits in depressed persons' performance compound the effects of their negative schemata and further contribute to their negative cognitions. We also further explored findings by B. M. Dykman et al (see record 1989-18948-001) and P.M. Lewinsohn et al (see record 1980-12088-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of failure on the self-esteem of depressed and nondepressed subjects.

Hypothesized that depressed Ss would show greater negative change in self-esteem in response to failure than nondepressed Ss, and investigated the relationship between lability and stability in mood and susceptibility of self-esteem to failure. 24 depressed and 24 nondepressed Ss completed daily mood ratings for 1 wk. and were categorized into stabile and labile groups. Each S was given a puzzle-solving task on which a 25, 50, or 75% failure condition was possible. Before and after the task, each S completed a self-esteem measure. Differences between depressed and nondepressed, stabile and labile groups did not reach statistical significance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and the response of others: A re-evaluation.

Used a methodology similar to that employed by J. C. Coyne (see record 1976-22455-001) to determine whether depressed patients induce negative mood in others and elicit social rejection. 45 female undergraduates conversed for 20 min by telephone with either 15 depressed psychiatric women, 15 nondepressed psychiatric women, or 15 nondepressed women. Depression was assessed by the Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Ss were rated on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. It was hypothesized that Ss who spoke with depressed Ss would report more negative mood (as assessed by the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List) and less willingness to interact further with their telephone partner than would Ss who spoke with nondepressed Ss. Results show that Ss were able to detect greater sadness and more problems in depressed Ss, although they themselves were not more depressed or more rejecting if they spoke with a depressed S. Present findings did not confirm those of Coyne. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression, social comparison, and the false-consensus effect.

Refers to the fact that in general, people perceive high consensus for their own attributes—the "false-consensus effect." 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed undergraduates (10 men and 10 women in each group) were asked about the extent to which depression-relevant and depression-irrelevant attributes were true of themselves and true of the "average college student." Ss were also asked questions assessing the accuracy of their perceptions of others. Depressed Ss showed less false consensus than nondepressed Ss. Although depressives characterized themselves as dissimilar to others, they showed no consistent bias to deprecate themselves relative to others. Nondepressives consistently enhanced themselves relative to others, although the magnitude of their self–other differences was smaller than that of depressives. The tendency to deprecate oneself relative to others on negative depression-relevant items was a better predictor of severity of depression than self-perceptions or other perceptions alone. Findings regarding the accuracy of perceptions of others were mixed. The discussion includes implications for the false-consensus effect, depressive attributional style, nondepressive self-serving biases, and therapy for depression. (1? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dysfunctional thinking in major depressive disorder: A deficit in metacognitive monitoring?

Speed of response to attitudinal statements has predictive behavioral significance and reflects the relative contributions of "automatic" access to precomputed schematic representations and slower "controlled" on-line processing. Latencies to Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (A. N. Weissman & A. T. Beck, 1978) and neutral statements were measured in 30 depressed patients and 30 nondepressed controls. For controls, responses incompatible with functional schemas were markedly slowed. This pattern of latencies is consistent with the operation of metacognitive monitoring of potential dysfunctional responses, dependent on limited controlled processing resources. For patients, there was no evidence of selective slowing for these or any other form of response. Results suggest that depressed patients have a deficit of metacognitive monitoring of dysfunctional cognitive products. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of success and failure on depressive cognitions

A cognitive social-learning approach to depression emphasizes biases or distortions in depressed persons' evaluation of information about self, future, and environment. 33 depressed and 34 nondepressed female undergraduates participated in a task that ostensibly assessed therapeutic potential; they received success, failure, or no feedback about their performance on this realistic social interaction task. It was anticipated that depressed women, especially as a function of feedback would respond in characteristic ways that could be construed as depression-enhancing on both self-rating and expectation-of-performance measures. The predictions were largely confirmed. A task developed to assess depressed-distorted responses to stories also revealed significant differences in types of response choices between depressed and nondepressed Ss. Results reinforce attempts to assess not what depressed people are or have , but what they do . (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)