Toward the prediction of mood change

Abstract

This analogue study tested the hypothesis that depressed mood may be predicted from the effects of a response-defined variable, frequency of self-reinforcement, and the rate of environmentally controlled reinforcement. Eighty under-graduates identified as exhibiting either a high or low frequency of self-reinforcement performed a 20-item anagrams task during which their responses were reinforced by the experimenter on 20% of the items, 80% of the iterms, 20% of the first 10 items and 80% of the second 10 items, or 80% of the first 10 items and 20% of the second 10 items. Subjects exhibiting a low frequency of self-reinforcement reported a greater increase in depressed mood following a decrease in environmental reinforcement than individuals exhibiting a high frequency of self-reinforcement.