CONTENT AND MODE OF INFORMATION-PROCESSING IN MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Although some research has assessed both the content and mode of information processing in subclinical depressive states, studies have yet to address these issues in clinical depression. In particular, research has not examined whether there is evidence of content specificity in the processing of state and trait depressive information, and whether this information is differentially processed in automatic versus effortful processing modes. In this study, depressed inpatients were compared with normals controls an a processing task that allowed for the assessment of both state and trait information processing in automatic or effortful modes. Results indicated better recall overall for control subjects, but when recall within subject conditions was taken into account, depressed patients showed diffuse recall across both state and trait depressive information. The schemas apparent in clinical depression therefore do not appear to be specific to trait depressive information and may function to facilitate the acquisition of any depression-relevant information.