title: Depressive Symptomatology and Priming Effects Among Younger and Older Adults.
abstract: Background/Study Context: This study examined the potential impact of self-reported depressive symptoms on the age-related capacity for inhibition and suppression, utilizing a negative priming paradigm.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred eighty-five community-residing adults varying in age (98 younger adults, Mage= 22; 87 older adults, Mage= 69) completed a nonconscious priming task, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), the Depression Sensitivity Scale (DSS), a free thought suppression task, as well as several measures indexing overall cognitive ability and psychomotor speed. Hierarchical regressions investigated the interaction of depressive symptoms with age and its effect on both positive and negative priming performance, indexing both facilitation and inhibition effects, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results support the hypothesis that noncognitive factors affect effortful performance among older adults, although this influence varied with the specific component of the GDS, i.e., Dysphoria, Social Withdrawal, and Cognitive Control, and with the measure of depressive symptoms, i.e., GDS versus DSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that aging's impact on both facilitation and inhibition, e.g., positive and negative priming, are to an extent, a function of individual differences in depressive symptoms that interact with age in influencing the necessity to reallocate one's cognitive resources to deal with depressive thoughts and feelings.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of North Texas , Denton , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hayslip
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , The University of Akron , Akron , Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Raymond E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: c Computing and Information Technology Center , University of North Texas , Denton , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Herrington
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , The University of Akron , Akron , Ohio , USA.
authors.forename: Martin D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of North Texas , Denton , Texas , USA.
authors.forename: Amanda K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Moske
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D055815:Young Adult