[Depressive tendency, self-focused attention, and self-referent processing of personality trait adjectives].
The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effect of depressive tendency and self-focused attention on self-referent processing of personality trait adjectives. Pairs of adjectives were used; they were similar in meaning, but one was positive in desirability, while the other negative. Sixty undergraduates, 30 mildly depressed and 30 normal controls, participated in the study. Only the self-focus group was first given a self-focus sentence completion test, and then all of them performed a self-referent judgment task with the adjectives. Immediately afterward, they were asked to recall as many adjectives as possible in an incidental memory task. Main results were as follows: The mildly depressed judged both positive and negative adjectives as equally applicable to themselves, while the controls judged negative ones to be less applicable. If self-focus was on the positive side of themselves, recall performance of the depressed became poorer, while that of the controls became better. If the focus was on the negative side, both groups recalled more positive adjectives, and fewer negative ones. These findings suggest that self-focused attention had different effects, depending on the person's depressive tendency.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto Women's University, Imakumano, Higashiyamaku, Kyoto 605-0926.
Sachiko
S
Torimaru
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011930:Reaction Time