Negative self‐schemata in clinical depression

Clinical depressives, compared to non-psychiatric controls, recalled more negative than positive self-referent adjectives, although there were no differences between groups in decision speed.

Abstract

Predictions from a negative self-schema model of depression were tested using decision speed and recall measures for self and other person-referent positive and negative adjectives. Clinical depressives, compared to non-psychiatric controls, recalled more negative than positive self-referent adjectives, although there were no differences between groups in decision speed. Depressives' negative bias in recall applied only to the self-referent conditions; in the other referent conditions they exhibited the normal tendency towards positive recall bias. The self-referent recall bias in depressives did not relate significantly to either duration or intensity of depression. The results appear to be consistent with expectations derived from a negative self-schema model of depression, but alternative explanations remain to be investigated.