The relation between depression and appreciation: The role of perceptions of emotional utility in an experimental test of causality |
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Authors: | Philip I. Chow Howard Berenbaum |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USApchow4@illinois.edu;3. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA |
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Abstract: | The present research examined the potential role of perceived utility of appreciation in depressive symptoms. In a between-subjects design, participants were induced to increase their experience of appreciation or their perceived usefulness of appreciation. Self-reported perceptions of emotional utility, actual experience of emotion, as well as depression scores gathered from semi-structured interviews, were obtained at baseline and post-induction. As predicted, although participants in both groups evidenced lower levels of depressive symptoms at post-induction than at baseline, there was a greater decrease among participants in the appreciation-utility condition than among those in the appreciation-experience condition. Further, perceived utility of appreciation was an important mediator in moderated mediation models. |
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Keywords: | Perceived utility Emotion Depression Appreciation Gratitude |
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