The attributional norm of internality and depressive sensitivity to social information

Two studies examined the existence, within an achievement-related context, of a social norm favoring internal explanations for task performances. In the first study, we investigated the reactions of observers to an actor's high, moderate, or low self-attribution of causal responsibility for his negative performance outcome on an ostensibly standardized aptitude test. The results indicated that the actor was evaluated more positively to the degree that he accepted more personal responsibility for his performance. In the second study, we examined the reactions of depressed and nondepressed observers to an actor's high or low self-attributions of causal responsibility for his poor performance on a test of analytical ability. On the basis of the notion that the chronic lack of control and resultant uncertainty, presumably characteristic of depressed persons, motivates attributional information processing, we expected depressed observers to be more sensitive to the actor's violation of the norm of internality and to respond with more social disapproval than nondepressed observers. Results generally were consistent with this reasoning. Experimental findings are discussed in terms of the interpersonal implications of expressed attributions.     

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.     

Contingency judgments by depressed college students: sadder but not always wiser

We examined depressed and nondepressed college students' perceptions of control over outcomes in a task similar to the one introduced by Alloy and Abramson (1979, Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, when subjects completed a contingency learning task with no one else present, nondepressed subjects perceived themselves to have more control over frequently occurring response-independent outcomes than did depressed subjects, which replicated Alloy and Abramson's finding. When subjects completed the task in the presence of an observer, depressed students perceived themselves to have more control than did nondepressed students. In Experiment 2, the observer effects found in Experiment 1 were replicated, and we extended those results by showing that when response-independent outcomes occurred relatively infrequently, depressed and nondepressed subjects who completed the task in the presence of an observer did not reliably differ in their estimates of personal control. In Experiment 3, which included minor procedural variations from the other experiments, the pattern of results found in Experiments 1 and 2 was replicated under conditions in which observers were present while subjects received frequently occurring outcomes. Together, the results of the three experiments demonstrate that the consistently accurate personal control estimates of depressed subjects that have been found across a variety of situations break down when subjects complete a contingency learning task in the presence of an observer, and outcomes occur independently of response at a high frequency.     

Signal probability effects on high-workload vigilance tasks

Signal probability is an important influence on vigilance. Typically, higher signal probability is associated with higher hit rate, lower response criterion, and lower response:signal ratio. However, signal probability effects on demanding, high-workload vigilance tasks have not been investigated. It is believed that attentional resources become depleted during performance of such tasks, leading to perceptual sensitivity decrements. Forty subjects performed high- (.35) and low- (.10) probability versions of a demanding vigilance task. Results differed in two important respects from those previously obtained with less demanding tasks. First, the decrement in perceptual sensitivity over time was greater for the high-probability task. Second, there were no effects of signal probability on response criterion. Subjective workload was higher for the high-probability task. Implications of the data for resource-depletion and expectancy theories of vigilance are discussed.     

The role of interdependence and perceived similarity in depressed affect contagion

This study hypothesized that perceived similarity significantly impacts depressed affect contagion only for individuals with highly interdependent self-construals. Baseline self-construal and affect were measured. Then, after reading a vignette about a depressed or nondepressed target, affect and perceived similarity were assessed. Participants reading the depressed vignette reported higher negative affect than participants reading the nondepressed vignette. Positive affect did not differ between the two conditions. For participants exposed to the depressed vignette, the hypothesized interaction between perceived similarity and interdependence significantly predicted positive affect. It appears that participants with more interdependent self-construals were more likely to "catch" the low positive affect displayed by the depressed target only if they perceived themselves as highly similar to the target.     

Effects of shifts in the rate of repetitive stimulation on sustained attention

The effects of shifts in the rate of presentation of repetitive neutral events (background event rate) were studied in a visual vigilance task. Four groups of subjects experienced either a high (21 events/min) or a low (6 events/min) event rate for 20 min and then experienced either the same or the alternate event rate for an additional 40 min. The temporal occurrence of critical target signals was identical for all groups, irrespective of event rate. The density of critical signals was 12 signals/20 min. By the end of the session, shifts in event rate were associated with changes in performance which resembled contrast effects found in other experimental situations in which shift paradigms were used. Relative to constant event rate control conditions, a shift from a low to a high event rate depressed the probability of signal detections, while a shift in the opposite direction enhanced the probability of signal detections.     

Evaluating the continuity of symptomatology between depressed and nondepressed individuals

Debate is contentious concerning whether depression should be viewed as a distinct category or as a continuum including overlapping normal and clinical phenomena. A nonparametric item response model was used to evaluate whether the probability of expressing individual symptoms differed between nondepressed and clinically depressed adults experiencing similar levels of overall severity. Even though depressed and nondepressed individuals were equated in terms of overall severity, differences on specific symptoms emerged. Depressed mood, anhedonia, and suicidality were more likely to be expressed in depressed than in nondepressed individuals, whereas hypochondriasis and middle insomnia were more likely to be expressed in nondepressed individuals at similar levels of severity. Such differences are inconsistent with the view of depression as a simple continuum.     

Infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers

To determine whether infants of “depressed” mothers interact better with their nondepressed fathers, twenty-six 3- to 6-month-old infants were videotaped during face-to-face interactions with their parents. The “depressed” mother group consisted of twelve 3- to 6-month-old infants and their “depressed” mothers and nondepressed fathers. The control group was composed of 14 nondepressed mothers and nondepressed fathers and their 3- to 6-month-old infants. In the “depressed” mother group, the nondepressed fathers received better interaction ratings than the “depressed” mothers. In turn, the infants received better interaction ratings when they interacted with their nondepressed fathers than with their “depressed” mothers. In contrast, nondepressed fathers and mothers and their infants in the control group did not differ on any of their interaction ratings. These findings suggest that infants' difficult interaction behaviors noted during interactions with their “depressed” mothers may not extend to their nondepressed fathers. The data are discussed with respect to the notion that nondepressed fathers may “buffer” the effects of maternal depression on infant interaction behavior.     

Decreased responsiveness to reward in depression

We have interpreted the literature showing left anterior hypoactivation in depression as reflecting a decrease in approach-related motivation and behaviour among depressed subjects. In support of this model, we have previously demonstrated a decreased responsiveness to reward in subclinically depressed dysphoric subjects. The current study was designed to replicate and extend those findings. Clinically depressed subjects who met DSM-IV criteria for major depression were compared to a group of nondepressed control subjects on a verbal memory task under three monetary payoff conditions: neutral, reward, and punishment. Although control subjects changed their pattern of responding in both the reward and punishment conditions, relative to the neutral condition, so as to maximise their earnings, depressed subjects did not do so during reward. The two groups did not differ during the punishment condition. These findings provide additional evidence of a decreased responsiveness to reward in depressed individuals, and are consistent with the hypothesis that the left prefrontal hypoactivation observed in depression reflects a deficit in approach-related behaviour.     

Childhood depression: Peer reactions to depression and life stress

The present study investigated children's responses to a peer's childhood depression. Younger children in third and fourth grade and older children in fifth and sixth grade were exposed to one of four films. The four films portrayed a female peer who was either depressed or not depressed and who had experienced numerous recent life stresses or no recent life stress. Overall, children rated the depressed peers as less likable and attractive, as engaging in fewer positive current and future behaviors, and as needing therapy more than a nondepressed peer. There was a tendency to rate the depressed peer with high life stress more positively than the depressed peer with low life stress; this tendency decreased with age. Girls rated all of the peers and especially the stressed peers more positively than did the boys. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of children's social interaction for the initiation or maintenance of childhood depression.The authors would like to thank Kelly Merk and Susan Vanderheid for their assistance with this research.     

The chronometry of affective startle modulation in unipolar depression

Affective startle eyeblink modulation by unipolar depressed and nondepressed participants was assessed during the anticipation and viewing of emotional pictures. Anticipatory startle probes were presented at 2,000 ms and 750 ms before picture onset. Startle probes during picture viewing were presented at 300 ms and 3,500-4,500 ms after picture onset. Although nondepressed participants demonstrated the predicted quadratic and linear patterns of responding in the 2,000-ms anticipatory and 3,500-4,500-ms viewing conditions, respectively, depressed participants were not significantly responsive to differences among picture valence categories at these probe conditions. There were no between-groups differences in startle modulation at the other two probe intervals, in picture ratings, or in behavioral responses to pictures. There was also little evidence of hyperresponsivity to negatively valenced stimuli in the depressed group. These results indicate that depression-related affective hyporesponsivity extended to startle modulation but that the nature and magnitude of the differences between depressed and nondepressed individuals were conditional on the specific cognitive and motivational processes recruited at different points in time.     

Pessimistic self-preoccupation, performance deficits, and depression

Three studies are presented testing a model of the cognitive performance deficits shown in depression. The model proposes that such deficits occur as an interaction of expectancy and focus of attention variables, that is, in the presence of both low expectancy of success and high self-focus. Study 1 was a pilot study which documented that depressed undergraduates evidence poorer anagram performance, greater self-focus, and lower pretask expectancies than do nondepressed subjects. Study 2 showed that nondepressed undergraduates evidence performance deficits only when both expectancy is lowered and self-focus is increased. Study 3 suggested that depressed undergraduates' performance deficits are overcome either by lowering self-focus or by raising expectancy. Discussed are discrepancies between self-report and performance data, the relevance of these studies to the test anxiety literature, the need to integrate literature concerning the effects of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem on performance, and how the interactive roles of positive expectancy and focus of attention may be related to effective coping in a variety of situations.     

Cognitive appraisal and attributional correlates of depressive symptoms in children

This study examined differences in cognitive appraisal and causal attributions in response to a task among schoolchildren reporting high and low depressive symptomatology. From a sample of 361 fifth- and sixth- grade students, 72 children were classified as depressed or nondepressed on the basis of their scores on the Children's Depression Inventory. They were then presented with modified Picture Arrangement problems from the WISC- R and questioned about their performance. Pretask expectations, evaluations, and future expectations of performance for the self and that of same- aged peers were assessed, as well as causal explanations for solvable and unsolvable problems. Despite similar performance, the depressed group of children provided lower evaluations for themselves than for others on all three measures of self- appraisal, whereas the nondepressed group did not show this tendency. Further, the attribution results indicated that the two groups differed in their explanations for failure, with the depressed group emphasizing the importance of ability in failure and the nondepressed group emphasizing factors other than ability. Overall, the results provide support for the presence of negative cognitions and self- defeating attributional style among depressed relative to nondepressed children, as well as pointing to the importance of social comparison processes in depression.This research was supported by studentships to Nancy Meyer from the Manitoba Health Research Council and subsequentlv from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and by a grant to Dennis Dyck from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Councel of Canada. The research was done in partial fulfillment of the first author's master's degree in the Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba.We would like to thank Rhea Brooks, April Machej, and Colleen Singbeil, for their assistance in the study; John Schallow, John Whitely, Lillian Esses, and Mike Thomas, for their helpful suggestions; and the teachers, administrators, and parents of Assiniboine South #3 School Division, for their cooperation and support.     

Depression and interpersonal attraction: the role of perceived similarity

We hypothesized that depressed individuals are generally viewed as dissimilar and that this perceived dissimilarity contributes to negative reactions to the depressed. In addition, we hypothesized that if perceived similarity affects liking of depressed individuals, then nondepressed subjects should prefer nondepressed targets, but depressed subjects should not share this preference. To test these hypotheses, depressed and nondepressed subjects received information about two targets, both either depressed or nondepressed, one attitudinally dissimilar and one attitudinally similar. They were then asked to fill out an attraction measure and an interest in meeting measure for each target. The results clearly supported the primary hypotheses, demonstrating that nondepressed subjects preferred nondepressed targets and perceived them as more similar than depressed targets, and that this preference for nondepressed targets is not shared by depressed subjects. Tests of supplementary hypotheses also confirmed that depressed subjects perceive their best friends as being more depressed and more dissimilar than do nondepressed subjects. The implications of these findings for the social world of the depressed were discussed.     

Depression and pessimism for the future: biased use of statistically relevant information in predictions for self versus others

The cognitive theories of depression emphasize the role of pessimism about the future in the etiology and maintenance of depression. The present research was designed for two reasons: to provide a clear demonstration that depressed individuals' predictions of the likelihood of future outcomes are more pessimistic than those of nondepressed individuals given identical information with which to make forecasts and identical conditions for forecasting, and to test two additional hypotheses regarding possible mechanisms underlying depressives' relative pessimism in forecasting: a social-comparison and a differential attributional-style hypothesis. We used a modification of the cue-use paradigm developed by Ajzen (1977, Experiment 1) and examined depressed and nondepressed people's predictions of the likelihood of future positive and negative outcomes for themselves and for others. The results provided strong support for pessimism on the part of depressed individuals relative to nondepressed individuals in forecasts for both self and others. In addition, whereas nondepressives exhibited a self-enhancing bias in which they overestimated their probability of success and underestimated their probability of failure relative to that of similar others, depressives did not succumb to either positive or negative social comparison biases in prediction. Finally, in line with the attributional-style hypothesis, depressed-nondepressed differences in subjects' cue-use patterns were obtained, especially in forecasts for self. The findings are discussed with respect to the mechanisms underlying predictive optimism and pessimism and the possible functions and implications of these predictive biases.     

Persistent high self-focus after failure and low self-focus after success: the depressive self-focusing style

Two studies were conducted to assess the spontaneous self-focusing tendencies of depressed and nondepressed individuals after success and failure. Based on a self-regulatory perseveration theory of depression, it was expected that depressed individuals would be especially high in self-focus after failure and low in self-focus after success. The results of Experiment 1 suggested that immediately after an outcome, both depressed and nondepressed individuals are more self-focused after failure than after success. This finding led us to hypothesize that differences between depressed and nondepressed individuals in self-focus following success and failure emerge over time. Specifically, immediately following an outcome, both types of individuals self-focus more after failure because of self-regulatory concerns. However, over time, depressed individuals persist in higher levels of self-focus after failure than after success, whereas nondepressed individuals shift to the opposite, more hedonically beneficial pattern. The results of Experiment 2 provided clear support for these hypotheses. Theoretical implications of these results were discussed.     

Recall of parental behavior by acute depressives, remitted depressives, and nondepressives

The goal of this study was to determine whether depressives' recall of parental behavior is a stable characteristic that persists even during asymptomatic periods. Recall of parental behavior was measured in a large community sample that was followed for one year. Four groups of subjects were formed according to their depression status: depressed, remitted depressed who had a history of depression but were not depressed during the study, cases who became depressed during the follow-up period, and never-depressed subjects. The results were generally consistent with the hypothesis that recalling one's parents as having been rejecting and unloving is not a stable personality characteristic of depression-prone persons. The currently depressed subjects differed as expected from the nondepressed subjects; however, the remitted depressed, regardless of how many past episodes of depression they had, did not differ from the nondepressed controls in their recall of parental behavior. The comparison of controls and cases resulted in an unexpected and difficult-to-interpret Sex X Group interaction. The implication of these findings for cognitive theories of depression are discussed.     

Sustained attention and unintentional injury among preschool-aged children.

This study examined vigilance in preschool-aged children and explored the relationship between vigilance and unintentional injury. There were 28 participating children, aged 4 and 5 years, who completed a computerized vigilance task for two 5-min sessions. The task generated measures of correct detections, false alarms, reaction time, and the signal detection indices of d' and c. Primary caregivers completed daily injury phone journals for a 4-week period. Results indicated that age and signal probability affected vigilance. Older children made more correct detections, had greater perceptual sensitivity, and performed in patterns similar to adults. Performance was enhanced in the high signal probability condition. In addition, vigilance indicators of perceptual sensitivity and response bias were predictive of injury, while age was not. Specifically, children with lower perceptual sensitivity scores, and who were less responsive to the vigilance task, experienced more unintentional injuries over the course of the study.     

Sustained Attention and Unintentional Injury Among Preschool-Aged Children

This study examined vigilance in preschool-aged children and explored the relationship between vigilance and unintentional injury. There were 28 participating children, aged 4 and 5 years, who completed a computerized vigilance task for two 5-min sessions. The task generated measures of correct detections, false alarms, reaction time, and the signal detection indices of d ' and c. Primary caregivers completed daily injury phone journals for a 4-week period. Results indicated that age and signal probability affected vigilance. Older children made more correct detections, had greater perceptual sensitivity, and performed in patterns similar to adults. Performance was enhanced in the high signal probability condition. In addition, vigilance indicators of perceptual sensitivity and response bias were predictive of injury, while age was not. Specifically, children with lower perceptual sensitivity scores, and who were less responsive to the vigilance task, experienced more unintentional injures over the course of the study.