Interpretation Bias in Depression: The Roles of Self-Relevance and Visual Perspective

Cognitive theories emphasize negatively biased interpretations as an important vulnerability factor for depression and target of therapy. Much of the research on interpretation bias in depression has focused on selection, or deciding which of several interpretations is likely. However, depressive biases may also exist in interpretation generation, or the ability to think of a variety of different possible interpretations. If biases exist for generation as well as selection, therapeutic techniques to encourage the generation of more positive interpretations would be warranted. The self-relevance of interpretations is also thought to be important, with depressive biases expected to emerge for oneself but not for others. In these studies, interpretation generation and selection are examined in individuals with high and low levels of depressive symptoms. Interpretations made for the self are contrasted with interpretations made for two types of "other," and the effects of viewing oneself as an "other," by adopting a third-person visual perspective, are examined. These studies reveal depressive biases in both interpretation generation and selection, such that individuals with depressive symptoms are more negative than control participants for both of these processes. The results also indicate that interpretation valence is highly sensitive to the way in which self-relevance is decreased. All participants generated and selected significantly more positive interpretations for friends than for themselves, but generated significantly more negative interpretations for hypothetical others than for themselves. Adopting a third-person visual perspective did not affect the valence of interpretations generated or selected. These findings suggest that decreasing the self-relevance of interpretations can be beneficial for individuals with depressive symptoms, and that instructions to consider a close friend are most likely to be effective in decreasing negativity.