Pleasant events, activity schedules, and depressions.

Instructed 3 groups of 10 undergraduates each (depressed, psychiatric controls, and normal controls) to rate their moods and indicate the number of pleasant activities engaged in each day for 30 days. A significant association between mood and pleasant activities was found. There were large individual differences in regard to the magnitude of the correlation between mood and activity, but differences between groups failed to attain statistical significance. Results are interpreted as consistent with the major tenet of the behavioral theory of depression, i.e., that there is an association between rate of positive reinforcement and intensity of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)