Implicit cognitive processes in depression

Jillian Elizabeth Garlipp

doi:10.17918/etd-413

The terms implicit and automatic processes are used interchangeably in this dissertation and refer to underlying thought processes that are nonvolitional and occur without awareness or attention. Differences in automatic cognitive processes between depressed individuals and nondepressed individuals are discussed in relation to implicit attentional biases, implicit memory, and implicit judgments and associations. The following hypotheses are proposed in this study: (1) There will be differences in task responses on implicit measures between depressed and never depressed individuals, in that depressed individuals will show stronger association between self and negative content words and will exhibit greater implicit memory for negative words compared to never depressed individuals; (2) Grouping depressed individuals based on a depressive personality style will provide greater sensitivity for implicit measures of depression, in that depressed individuals will show greater implicit processing of negative content words that pertain to the individual's depressive style; and (3) Implicit measures of depression will correlate to a greater degree with each other than with explicit measures. The implicit association test (IAT) and word stem completion task were used to assess implicit cognitive processes, and mixed-model MANOVA's and correlation analyses were used to test the hypotheses. The results of mixed model MANOVA's showed significant differences in self-concept associative bias within depressed and never depressed groups, in that both groups demonstrated a positive bias in self-concept. There were was a strong tendency for differences between groups based on autonomy on the IAT. Those high on autonomy exhibited a tendency for lower self-concept positive bias than those depressed and low on autonomy and those never depressed. These results indicated that those who were depressed and scored high on autonomy viewed themselves in a less positive light than the other groups when they implicitly made associations between themselves and negative autonomous stimuli and positive stimuli. Results indicate significant correlations between implicit and explicit measures and between implicit measures and between explicit measures.

Implicit cognitive processes in depression

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Implicit cognitive processes in depression

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