Effects of positive and negative feedback and degree of discrepancy on responses to test results.

169 undergraduates received falsified psychological test results that were discrepant in either positive or negative directions with their own reports on self-referring attitudes. They were then given the opportunity to change their self-reports and/or derogate the accuracy of the test interpreter. Ss who received negative feedback were more likely to derogate the interpreter, whereas Ss who received positive feedback were more likely to change their self-reports in the direction of the interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood effects on attitude judgments: Independent effects of mood before and after message elaboration.

Investigated the independent effects of induced mood on the encoding of persuasive messages and on the assessment of attitude judgments. In Exp 1, positive or negative mood was induced either before the encoding of a counterattitudinal message or before the assessment of attitude judgments. When mood was induced before message presentation, Ss in a bad mood were more persuaded by strong than by weak arguments, whereas Ss in a good mood were equally persuaded by strong and by weak arguments. When Ss encoded the message in a neutral mood, however, the advantage of strong over weak arguments was more pronounced when Ss were in a good rather than in a bad mood at the time of attitude assessment. In Exp 2, Ss exposed to a counterattitudinal message composed of either strong or weak arguments formed either a global evaluation or a detailed representation of the message. Positive, negative, or neutral mood was then induced. Ss in a good mood were most likely and Ss in a negative mood least likely to base their reported attitudes on global evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)     

Self-esteem, mood, and self-evaluation: Changes in mood and the way you see you.

Three studies found that self-esteem moderates the relation between mood and self-evaluation. In Study 1, a standard mood-induction procedure was used to induce positive, negative, or neutral moods in low self-esteem (LSE) Ss and high self-esteem Ss. Afterward, Ss evaluated their specific qualities and characteristics (e.g., How smart are you? How kind are you?). Both self-esteem groups evaluated themselves favorably in a positive mood, but LSE Ss were more apt to lower their self-evaluations in a negative mood. Study 2 found a similar, though weaker, pattern using a noncognitive, musical mood induction; Study 3 found that these effects occur with variations in naturally occurring mood over a 6-wk period. The authors suggest that the tendency for LSE people to respond to negative mood with self-depreciation contributes to psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Activity valence as a function of mood change.

Investigated variation of activity evaluations as a function of affective change. 32 depressed and 36 nondepressed college students were exposed to 1 of 3 mood induction conditions, including depressive, elated, or neutral statements. Additionally, each S rated several activities for degree of pleasantness before and after mood manipulations. Affect-induction procedures were successful in changing or intensifying characteristic mood. For both groups, the induction of negative affect significantly decreased the enjoyableness attributed to activities, the induction of positive affect significantly elevated activity evaluations, and a neutral induction did not significantly change activity ratings. Contrary to predictions, depressed and nondepressed Ss did not differ in their initial evaluations of activities, indicating that they may approach activities with similar expectations of reinforcement. Implication for P. M. Lewinsohn's (1974, 1975) model of depression are discussed. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of ambiguous and unambiguous feedback by depressed and nondepressed college students: Schematic biases and their implications for depressive realism.

Explored schematic processing as a mechanism for predicting (a) when depressed Ss would be negative relative to nondepressed Ss and (b) when depressed and nondepressed Ss would show biased or unbiased (i.e., "realistic") processing. Depressed and nondepressed Ss performed multiple trials of a task under conditions in which the 2 groups held either equivalent or different schemas regarding this task. Ss received either an unambiguous or objectively normed ambiguous feedback cue on each trial. In full support of schematic processing, depressed Ss showed negative encoding relative to nondepressed Ss only when their schemas were more negative, and both depressed and nondepressed Ss showed positively biased, negatively biased, and unbiased encoding depending on the relative feedback cue-to-schema match. Depressed and nondepressed Ss' response latencies to unambiguous feedback also supported the occurrence of schematic processing. We discuss the methodological, treatment, and "realism" implications of these findings and suggest a more precise formulation of Beck's schema theory of depression. (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)     

Mood and the formation of attitudes.

Conducted 2 studies to examine how mood influences the attitudes formed by 72 undergraduates (Study 1) and 45 undergraduates (Study 2). After reading the Velten mood induction cards, Ss were presented with positive and negative belief statements about an unfamiliar attitude object. Measures of attitudes, statements recalled, and evaluations of statements were taken. In both studies, mood was shown to influence attitudes. Moreover, in Study 1, Ss evaluated both positive and negative statements in line with their mood. These results are consistent with the research of D. M. Mackie and L. T. Worth (see record 1989-31851-001) on the effects of positive mood on persuasion and suggest that negative mood may also operate to encourage the use of heuristic processing of information. No evidence was found for a mood-congruity effect in either study. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ironic processes in the mental control of mood and mood-related thought.

Investigated the mental control of mood and mood-related thought. In Exp 1, Ss reminiscing about a happy or sad event were asked to make their mood positive, were given no instructions, or were asked to make their mood negative. Ss attempting mood control without an imposed cognitive load were successful, whereas those who attempted control while rehearsing a 9-digit number not only failed to control their moods, but also showed self-reported mood change opposite the mood they intended to create. In Exp 2, Ss attempting to control mood-related thoughts under cognitive load showed increased accessibility of those thoughts contrary to the direction of intended control in a Stroop-type color-naming task. (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)     

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)     

Some effects of reward upon the social perception and motivation of psychiatric patients varying in depression.

This study is concerned with the effects of task performance upon the affective state and social judgments of depressed individuals. Nondepressed and depressed male psychiatric patients were randomly assigned to an experimentally-induced superior- and inferior-performance condition. Prior to and immediately following the experimental task, Ss rated their own mood and judged photographs of male and female adults on a happiness-sadness continuum. Indices of self-confidence were also obtained. Ss in the superior-performance group in comparison to inferior-performance Ss were more self-confident, rated themselves as happier, and perceived others as happier. Depressive Ss tended to be more affected than nondepressed Ss by task performance when estimating how they would do in a future task; the groups did not differ, however, in performance effects on self-ratings or on judgments of photographs. (18 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)     

Effect of contingent and noncontingent feedback and subject expectancies on electoencephalogram biofeedback training.

80 undergraduates either received auditory feedback contingent on their production of alpha or they received noncontingent feedback. In addition, Ss were led to expect either a positive or a negative experience. Ss who received contingent feedback produced significantly more alpha than Ss who received noncontingent feedback, but the type of feedback did not seem related to mood. Instead, Ss led to expect a positive experience reported significant reductions in anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-discrepancies and emotional vulnerability: How magnitude, accessibility, and type of discrepancy influence affect.

Two studies with 129 undergraduates examined whether the type of emotional change experienced by individuals is influenced by the magnitude and accessibility of the different types of self-discrepancies they possess. In both studies, Ss filled out a measure of self-discrepancy a few weeks prior to the experimental session. Ss were asked to list up to 10 attributes each for their actual self, their ideal self (their own or others' hopes and goals for them), and their ought self (their own or others' beliefs about their duty and obligations). In Study 1, Ss asked to imagine a positive or negative event who had a predominant actual–ideal discrepancy felt more dejected on a mood measure and wrote more slowly on a writing-speed task in the negative event condition than in the positive event condition. Ss with a predominant actual–ought discrepancy felt more agitated and wrote more quickly in the negative event condition. In Study 2, Ss high or low in both kinds of discrepancies were either asked to discuss their own and their parents' hopes and goals for them (ideal priming) or asked to discuss their own and their parents' beliefs concerning their duty and obligations (ought priming). For high-discrepancy Ss, ideal priming increased their dejection, whereas ought priming increased their agitation. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression, self-focused attention, and expectancies for positive and negative future life events for self and others.

In two studies, we examined depressed and nondepressed persons' judgments of the probability of future positive and negative life events occurring to themselves and to others. Study 1 demonstrated that depressed subjects were generally less optimistic than their nondepressed counterparts: Although nondepressed subjects rated positive events as more likely to happen to themselves than negative events, depressed subjects did not. In addition, relative to nondepressed subjects, depressed subjects rated positive events as less likely to occur to themselves and more likely to occur to others and negative events as more likely to occur to both self and others. Study 2 investigated the role that differential levels of self-focused attention might play in mediating these differences. On the basis of prior findings that depressed persons generally engage in higher levels of self-focus than nondepressed persons do and the notion that self-focus activates one's self-schema, we hypothesized that inducing depressed subjects to focus externally would attenuate their pessimistic tendencies. Data from Study 2 supported the hypothesis that high levels of self-focus partially mediate depressive pessimism: Whereas self-focused depressed subjects were more pessimistic than nondepressed subjects, externally focused depressed subjects were not. The role of attentional focus in maintaining these and other depressive pessimistic tendencies was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of mood on self-appraisal of health status.

Investigated the effects of temporary mood on the self-perception of health status in 2 experiments, using 44 and 90 undergraduates, respectively. In Exp I, Ss viewed 1 of 2 videotapes designed to induce either positive or negative mood and were asked to imagine an illness-related scenario and to provide judgments concerning their health status. Positive-induction Ss judged their health more favorably than negative-induction Ss. In Exp II, Ss viewed 1 of 2 mood induction tapes, and some Ss were asked to imagine either an illness-related scenario or illness-unrelated scenario. A 3rd group was given no instructions. Data are consistent with the notion that negative mood can affect subjective appraisals of health by increasing the accessibility of illness-related memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induced mood and the illusion of control.

Examined the directionality of the relationship between realism in judging personal control and depression. Depressed and elated mood states were induced transiently in 40 naturally nondepressed and 40 depressed females (Beck Depression Inventory and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List), and the impact of these transient mood states on susceptibility to the illusion of control was assessed. Naturally nondepressed Ss gave accurate judgments of control while naturally depressed Ss showed an illusion of control and overestimated their impact on an objectively uncontrollable outcome. Mood induction groups showed predicted changes in self-reported affect and a behavioral measure of depression. These results are in contrast to those of L. B. Alloy and L. Y. Abramson (1979). An implication of the present findings may be that therapeutic interventions for depression that successfully remediate depressive symptoms may also increase depressed individuals' susceptibility to the illusion of control. (39 ref) (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)