Positive effects of subclinical depression in prospective memory and ongoing tasks in young and old adults

Results reported in the literature show that depression can have either negative or neutral effects on prospective memory (PM). The goal of the present study was to broaden the analysis of depression-related effects on PM, with regard to the possibility that subclinical depression may have positive influence on PM. A total of 120 participants from four groups (young/old, subclinically depressed/non-depressed) completed event- and time-based PM tasks embedded in the linear orders task or stories task, respectively. In the event-based PM task no effects of depression were found, whereas depressed participants were more accurate in the time-based PM task, where higher monitoring during the last minute of the task was observed. It was also found that depressed participants built a mental model in the linear orders task more accurately than controls. Results of the present study are discussed with reference to the analytical rumination hypothesis.