Depression and the ‘emotional’ stroop effect

Abstract

Groups of subclinically depressed (D) and non-depressed (ND) undergraduates were established on the basis of scores on the Inventory to Diagnose Depression (IDD). The groups were then compared on colour naming times in both a conventional and an ‘emotional’ Stroop task. The latter involved three types of verbal stimuli—self-esteem threatening nouns, nouns having emotionally negative connotations and emotionally positive nouns. Colour naming time was significantly longer for the colour incongruent stimuli in the conventional Stroop task and for all three types of stimuli in the ‘emotional’ Stroop, but mood was found not to influence colour naming time. In the sample as a whole, level of depression as measured by IDD was found to correlate 0.683 with state anxiety as measured by STAI. Using the component of IDD score orthogonal to STAI score as a ‘purer’ measure of depression, participants were recategorised as depressed (D') or non-depressed (ND'). Comparison of the D' and ND' group gave the same results as the original analysis except that the depressed group showed a retardation effect in giving slower colour naming times for all types of stimuli. The results are taken as supporting Williams, Watts, MacLeod and Mathews (1988; Cognitive psychology and emotional disorders. Chichester: Wiley) claim that selective attention to threat is not associated with depression.