title: Ratio scales of the reward values and punisher aversions of depressed undergraduates.
abstract: Two experiments (Ns = 116 and 154, respectively) tested theories that state that depressed people undervalue rewards or are overly averse to punishers. Rational zero-point scaling was used to obtain ratio scales of undergraduates' reward values and punisher aversions. As the theories predicted, depressed students consistently valued classmate praise about three- to six-tenths as highly as did nondepressed students; depressed females were 1.4 times more averse to all four punishers (classmate and professor criticism, incorrectness feedback, and monetary fine), while depressed males were 1.2 times more averse to the three intangible punishers. Contrary to the theories, depressed students consistently failed to undervalue the remaining three rewards (professor praise, money, and correctness feedback), and depressed males failed to be overly averse to a monetary fine. It was concluded that reward-value theories of depression received more narrow support than did the punisher-aversion theories. In addition, developmental theories of reward values were supported by the finding that studies from low social-status backgrounds valued the abstract rewards about seven-tenths as highly as did high status students.
mesh_terms: D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D011678:Punishment; D012201:Reward; D012945:Social Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors