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)     

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)     

Limitations in generalizability of the physical attractiveness stereotype: The self-esteem exception.

Previous research has reported the existence of a physical attractiveness stereotype which results in several generalized assumptions about physically attractive individuals. Included in these assumptions is that physically attractive individuals are more capable on a number of dimensions and possess more socially desirable personality traits than less attractive individuals. It was predicted that self-esteem would interfere with the attractiveness stereotype in that low self-esteem (LSE) Ss would (a) denigrate an attractive other more than high self-esteem (HSE) Ss, (b) denigrate an attractive person more than an unattractive person, and (c) perceive greater situational similarity with an unattractive than attractive other, with HSE Ss perceiving the reverse. 80 female Ss designated either high or low in self-esteem, based on their scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, evaluated either an attractive or unattractive stimulus person who had socially transgressed. Results indicate that, as predicted, LSE Ss tended to denigrate a transgressing attractive other more than HSE Ss. Although insignificant, the 2nd hypothesis was in the predicted direction in that LSE Ss judged a social transgression to be reflective of personality deficits more for the attractive than unattractive stimulus person. Situational similarity results were in accordance with predictions. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and the perception of reinforcement.

Tested the prediction of the learned helplessness model of depression that depressed Ss tend to perceive reinforcement as more response-independent than do nondepressed Ss in skill tasks, but not in chance tasks. Changes in expectancies for success following reinforcement in chance and skill tasks were examined in 32 college students. The Rotter Internal-External Control Scale and Beck Depression Inventory were used to classify Ss into 4 groups: depressed high external, depressed low external, nondepressed high external, and nondepressed low external. The predictions were confirmed: nondepressed Ss showed greater expectancy changes than depressed Ss in skill, while the changes of depressed and nondepressed Ss were similar in chance. Externality had no significant effect on expectancy changes in chance or skill. Results indicate that depression entails a specific cognitive distortion of the consequences of skilled action. (27 ref.) (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)     

Stress, coping, and marital satisfaction in couples with a depressed wife.

Evaluated the relationships among psychological distress, perceived stress, marital satisfaction, and coping in 20 couples in which the pregnant wife suffered major depression, 20 couples in which the pregnant wife suffered minor depression, and 40 control couples in which the pregnant wife was nondepressed. Consistent with a systems conceptualization of depression, the depressed Ss and their husbands both reported greater dissatisfaction in their marriages and used more dysfunctional coping strategies than did the nondepressed control couples. Whereas both the minor and major depressed Ss differed from the nondepressed Ss with respect to psychological distress and perceived stress, only husbands of the minor depressed Ss differed significantly on these measures from husbands of the nondepressed Ss, reporting greater distress and a higher level of perceived stress. (French abstract) (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)     

Universal versus personal helplessness in depression: Belief in uncontrollability or incompetence?

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that depressed individuals believe outcomes are more response independent than do nondepressed individuals in a skill situation. The present study assessed whether depressives' cognitive distortions are specific to their belief about their own skilled action or are a result of a general belief in uncontrollability in the world. Changes in expectancies following success and failure in skill and chance tasks were examined in 32 depressed and 32 nondepressed college students who either performed themselves or observed a confederate perform a pair of tasks. In the skill task, depressed Ss showed significantly smaller changes in expectancy than nondepressed Ss when estimating the probability of their own success. In contrast, depressed and nondepressed Ss did not differ when estimating the probability of another person's success on the identical skill task. It is inferred that depressed individuals view themselves as helpless in a skilled situation but do not view the situation itself as uncontrollable. Results are discussed in terms of the reformulated learned helplessness model. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parameters of self-reinforcement and depression.

Assessed the levels of 3 components of self-reinforcement (self-expectation, self-evaluation, and self-reward) in 2 groups of 40 hospitalized psychiatric patients (clinically depressed and clinically nondepressed). Tasks included a word association measure, the WAIS Digit Symbol subtest, and a task involving decisions that would benefit the ward. The depressed group showed significantly lower levels on all 3 variables, which were significantly interrelated. Ss in the depressed group were significantly more reinforcing to others on all 3 variables than to themselves, as compared with the nondepressed group. Despite lower levels of self-reinforcement, there were no differences between the 2 groups' objective performances. The overall results suggest qualifications to a self-reinforcement theory of depression. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies, mood, and performance of depressed and nondepressed psychiatric inpatients on chance and skill tasks.

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that, compared with nondepressed patients, depressed patients will demonstrate psychomotor deficits, provide lower subjective evaluations of their performance, and perceive reinforcement in skill tasks as more response independent. These predictions were tested in 32 depressed (mean age 35 yrs) and 32 nondepressed (mean age 38 yrs) psychiatric inpatients, who had been administered the Quick Test and the Beck Depression Inventory. Ss performed card- and peg-sorting tasks in which measures of performance, ratings of mood and expectancy of success, and subjective evaluations of performance were obtained under chance and skill reinforcement conditions. Although some support was obtained for the prediction that depressives provide lower evaluations of their performance than nondepressives, the other predictions were not supported. Comparisons between depressed and nondepressed schizophrenics indicate that the mood of depressed schizophrenics was especially sensitive to task outcome for both skill and chance conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of physical attractiveness in the readjustment of discharged psychiatric patients.

27 female and 22 male psychiatric inpatients (aged 18–56 yrs) about to be discharged to the community were rated for physical attractiveness, and their adjustment was assessed 6 mo after discharge. Before discharge, Ss' premorbid adjustment, physical attractiveness, adequacy of present interpersonal behavior, and present hospital adjustment were assessed. Six months after discharge, Ss were interviewed, and time out of the hospital, social competence, and a friend's or relative's ratings of the Ss were measured. Findings show that Ss who were more physically attractive stayed out of the hospital longer than the less attractive ones. Females who were relatively more attractive were perceived as being better adjusted by the friend or relative; this relationship was not present for males. Implications for the role of physical attractiveness in the etiology and maintenance of mental disorders are discussed. (23 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)     

Depression, interpersonal standard setting, and judgments of self-efficacy.

Investigated the relationship between standard setting and judgments of self-efficacy in the domain of interpersonal functioning for depressed and nondepressed Ss. Consistent with a self-control model of depression, a large discrepancy between personal standards and judgments of personal efficacy for performance was postulated to be related to depression. Undergraduate students who scored above 13 on 2 administrations of the Beck Depression Inventory composed the depressed group. 39 depressed and 39 nondepressed students rated their minimal standards for adequate interpersonal performance, its importance to them, and their judgments of self-efficacy for the same tasks, using the Interpersonal Concerns Questionnaire. Depressed Ss showed a larger discrepancy between strength of interpersonal standards and strength of self-efficacy than did normal Ss. Depressed Ss expressed a lower strength of self-efficacy than did nondepressed Ss, but they did not differ on their interpersonal standards. Importance and the strength for standards are consistent with recent extensions of P. M. Lewinsohn's (1974) model of depression, which suggests that disruptions in self-evaluation are related to lowered judgments of self-efficacy for depressed Ss. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of depressed mood on eating among obese and nonobese dieting and nondieting persons.

Induced a depressed or nondepressed mood in obese and nonobese dieters and nondieters (18 male and 38 female undergraduates). Ss were administered a battery of measures, including the Beck Depression Inventory and Depression Adjective Check List. As predicted, dieters ate more when depressed than when nondepressed, and nondieters ate less when depressed than when nondepressed. That is, both groups reversed their typical eating patterns when depressed. Also as predicted, among depressed Ss, dieters ate more than nondieters; among nondepressed Ss dieters ate less that nondieters. This pattern of results was found for both obese and nonobese Ss. Dieting habits were highlighted as a more salient variable than obesity in predicting eating responses to depressed mood. Findings are discussed with respect to the psychosomatic theory of obesity, the stimulus-binding theory of obesity, previous investigations of clinical depression, and the theory of restrained eating. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social-environmental factors in unipolar depression: Comparisons of depressed patients and nondepressed controls.

Examined the role of stress and coping factors in depression by comparing a group of 409 Ss (over age 18) entering psychiatric treatment for unipolar depression with a sociodemographically matched group of 409 nondepressed Ss. In addition to reporting significantly more stressful events than controls, depressed Ss also experienced more severe life strains associated with their own and their family members' physical illness, their family relationships, and their home and work situations. Depressed Ss were less likely to use problem-solving and more likely to use emotion-focused coping responses and had fewer and less supportive relationships with friends, family members, and co-workers. These group differences were consistent for both depressed women and men. Findings indicate the value of expanding the consideration of psychosocial factors in depression to include individuals' chronic strains and acute stressors as well as their coping responses and social resources. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences between depressed and nondepressed individuals in the recognition of and response to facial emotional cues.

Investigated the recognition of, and responses to, facial expressions of emotion. Ss were all women and consisted of the following groups: (1) 16 depressed college students, (2) 16 nondepressed college students, (3) 16 depressed psychiatric patients, and (4) 11 nondepressed psychiatric patients. Results suggest that both depressed groups, relative to the nondepressed college group, made more errors in recognizing the facial expressions and reported more freezing or tensing, higher fear and depression reactions, and less comfort with their own emotional reactions to these expressions and a stronger desire to change these reactions. Few differences were found between the depressed psychiatric patients and the psychiatric control Ss. It is concluded that inappropriate reactions to others' emotions may maintain or increase depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of overt behavior and childhood depression among psychiatrically disturbed children.

Examined the relation of direct observations of overt behavior to depression among 62 child psychiatric inpatients (aged 8–13 yrs). Childhood depression was assessed by self-report and interview measures administered separately to Ss and their mothers. DSM-III diagnoses were also obtained from direct interviews and were supplemented with clinical information. Direct observations of Ss were obtained during free-time periods over several days. Multiple behaviors were observed and coded into 1 of 3 categories: social activity (e.g., talking with others and playing games), solitary behavior (e.g., working alone on a task and playing alone), and affect-related expression (e.g., smiling and frowning). Results show that depressed Ss (n?=?21) engaged in significantly less social activity and exhibited less affect-related expression than nondepressed peers (n?=?41). Moderate stability in performance was observed over a 4-wk test–retest interval. Overt behavioral measures were consistently related to parent-completed but not to S-completed measures of depression. Findings suggest that depressive symptoms are reflected in diverse behaviors in everyday life. (27 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)     

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)