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Context-dependent automatic processing in depression: accessibility of negative constructs with regard to self but not others
Abstract
The existence of automatic negative self-referential thought in depression was examined by using the concurrent memory load paradigm. Depressed and nondepressed subjects judged each of a series of depressed- and nondepressed-content adjectives as to its descriptiveness of the self or of the average other person. While making each judgment, some subjects held six digits in working memory, whereas the remaining subjects had no concurrent memory load. We found that the memory load manipulation resulted in a reliably smaller increase in depressed subjects' self-referential judgment latencies for depressed content than for nondepressed content, with the reverse being true of nondepressed subjects. For all subjects, however, the load effect on other-referential judgment latencies was smaller for nondepressed-content adjectives than for depressed-content adjectives. The results suggest an automatic, unintentional component in the depressed person's use of negative social constructs in self-perception but not in other-perception, indicating a context-dependent form of automatic processing.
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“The DMN includes medial cortical structures, such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, and it is critical to negative self-referential processing such as rumination and worrying known to go awry in depression (35–38).”
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Devos, T., Diaz, P., Viera, E., & Dunn, R. M. (2007) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298860601118710 · Cited by 14
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“…when the information pertains to the self or a significant other, but not as consistently when it concerns generic person (Martin et al. 1983; Kuiper and Higgins 1985; Bargh and Tota 1988; Kuiper et al. 1988; Mangan and Hookway 1988; Baldwin 1992; Cacioppo et al. 1997; Collins and Feeney 2004).”
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Conway, M. A., & White-Dysart, L. (1999) · Social Cognition · doi:10.1521/soco.1999.17.3.312 · Cited by 14
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“Depressive episodes are characterized by preferential processing of negative information about a person’s self (Bargh and Tota, 1988; Gotlib et al., 2004; Wagner et al., 2015).”
BackgroundCognitive load causes people to react ineffectively to others' norm transgressions
Fonseca, A., Bräuer, M., Moisuc, A., & Nugier, A. (2013) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/jasp.12145 · Cited by 12
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“This provided a more stringent test of processing efficiency, on the basis of previous studies that have made claims about automaticity of social cognitive processes using this same cognitive load (Bargh & Chartrand, 2000 ; Bargh & Tota, 1988 ; see also Lavie, 2005 , for a discussion of its use in cognitive tasks).”
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“In support of this position, research has been generally consistent in demonstrating that depressed individuals show a negative bias in their evaluations and recall of trait words when trait words are self-referent but not when they are other-referent ( Bargh & Tota, 1988; Derry & Kuiper, 1981; Greenberg & Alloy, 1989…”
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“…memory bias in MDD are equivocal for normative emotional stimuli, most studies employing self-relevant information or self-referential encoding paradigms have been successful in eliciting this bias (Bargh & Tota, 1988; Bradley & Mathews, 1983; Kuiper & Derry, 1982; Rude, Krantzm, & Rosenhan, 1988).”
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“…2015 Vol. 14, No. 4, 464–481, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2015.1022594 has played a major role is in understanding individual differences in perception, motivation, and social behavior (Bargh & Thein, 1985; Bargh & Tota, 1988; Bassili, 1995; Fazio, 1995; Higgins, King, & Mavin, 1982).”
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“Although, some studies have suggested that the rumination that is associated with mood disorders uses cognitive resources that may diminish performance [40], others have observed that rumination often becomes a more automated bottom up process that has a relatively small load on cognitive resources [41,42].”
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“…accordance with dual model approach and early empirical evidence indicating distinction between implicit and explicit operations of the self (e.g., Bargh & Tota, 1988; Rogers, Kuiper, & Kirker, 1977), researchers supposed that it was also possible to distinguish between the implicit and explicit…”
The impact of self-referential processing on depression-linked negative interpretive bias
Lawson, C., MacLeod, C., Hammond, G., & Grafton, B. (2023) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101912 · Cited by 3
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Mittag, W. (1995) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0331-2_11 · Cited by 2
“Several studies have attempted to correct this problem by calculating proportion scores (adjusted recall scores), where the number of recalled words that had been rated previously as self-descriptive in a given category or/and task is divided by the number of self-descriptive ratings the subject had made previously in…”
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BackgroundCognitive Theory of Depression: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?
Shaw, B. F., & Katz, R. (1990) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-0649-8_2 · Cited by 1
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Vázquez, T. D., & Martínez, A. V. (2019) · Comunitania Revista Internacional de Trabajo Social y Ciencias Sociales · doi:10.5944/comunitania.16.4
“Such thoughts have a powerful influence on the individuals, as they are not fully aware of them (Bargh & Tota, 1988).”
BackgroundBiggs, A. L., Puccetti, N. A., Jones, N. P., Silva, P. D., Chase, H. W., Phillips, M. L., & Fournier, J. C. J. (2025) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsaf120
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Su, X., Shangguan, R., & Luo, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1730711
Puccetti, N. A., Maffly‐Kipp, J., Gallagher, M. R., Biggs, A. L., Silva, P. Q. D., Jones, N. P., Chase, H. W., Edmiston, E. K., Moe, A. M., & Fournier, J. C. (2026) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-026-01456-8
Metadata
- Authors
- Bargh, J. A., & Tota, M. E.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- ORCID
- Bargh, John A.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1988
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 925-939
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W1978138377
- Cited by
- 229
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 12.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Keywords
- depression, automatic processing, self-referential processing, self-perception, perception of the other, context sensitivity, working memory
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Concept Formation, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Psychological Tests, Reaction Time, Mental Recall, Self Concept, Semantics, Social Perception
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