Enhanced attention to context: An intervention that increases perceived control in mild depression

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP
Rachel M MsetfiH A Cavus

Abstract

People perceive that they have control over events to the extent that the same events do not occur outside of their control, randomly, in the environment or context. Therefore, perceived control should be enhanced if there is a large contrast between one's own control and the control that the context itself seems to exert over events. Given that depression is associated with low perceived control, we tested the hypothesis that enhanced attentional focus to context will increase perceived control in people with and without depression. A total of 106 non-depressed and mildly depressed participants completed a no control zero-contingency task with low and high outcome probability conditions. In the experimental context-focus group, participants were instructed to attend to the context, whereas in the control group, participants were instructed to attend to their thoughts. Irrespective of attentional focus, non-depressed participants displayed illusory control. However, people with mild depression responded strongly to the attention focus manipulation. In the control group, they evidenced low perceived control with classic depressive realism effects. In the experimental group, when asked to focus on the context in which events took...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1979·Journal of Experimental Psychology. General·L B Alloy, L Y Abramson
Jun 1, 1961·Archives of General Psychiatry·A T BECKJ ERBAUGH
Feb 11, 2005·Journal of Experimental Psychology. General·Rachel M MsetfiDiana E Kornbrot
Mar 17, 2007·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Rachel M MsetfiJane Simpson
Mar 25, 2011·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology : QJEP·Fernando BlancoMiguel A Vadillo
Oct 3, 2012·PloS One·Fernando BlancoMiguel A Vadillo
Dec 19, 2012·Psychological Bulletin·Anson J Whitmer, Ian H Gotlib
May 22, 2013·PloS One·Rachel M MsetfiRobin A Murphy

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Citations

Sep 13, 2017·PloS One·María Manuela Moreno-FernándezHelena Matute
Mar 6, 2019·PloS One·Fernando Blanco, Helena Matute

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