The present study was designed to investigate the possible relationship between religiosity as cognitive variable and the occurrence and severity of nonpsychotic, reactive depression within the paradigm of cognitive theory. Religious orientation, religious belief content, and locus of control were investigated to assess their relationship to guilt tendencies and depression tendency. The basic cognitive elements of religiosity were used as predictor variables in multiple regression analyses of the criterion variables of guilt and depression tendencies. Pearson correlations were also performed to determine the strength of the relationships between religiosity variables and guilt and depression tendencies.

This thesis was designed to examine two issues concerning negative cognition in depression: whether a negative schema is a characteristic of depressed people, and if so, whether it is a temporary state or an enduring trait. Previous research has reported mixed findings on both issues. A negative schema was defined as the negativity of an individual's chronically accessible constructs. A positive relationship between negative construct accessibility and depression , and between negative construct accessibility and vulnerability to depression was predicted. The relationship between negative construct accessibility and vulnerability to depression controlling for depression was also examined. Subjects completed a construct accessibility measure, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results indicated that the relationship between negative construct accessibility and depression was modified either by anxiety alone or by gender and vulnerability to depression. The relationship between negative construct accessibility and vulnerability to depression was modified by gender and depression. These results suggest that under certain conditions a negative schema is a temporary state in depressed individuals. Implications for future research are discussed. / Department of Psychological Science

This study explored the relationship between counterfactual thinking and depressive self-schemata. Specifically, the effect of depression on the focus, direction, and action versus inaction of counterfactual thoughts was studied. It was found that the positive and negative outcome events containing action resulted in a greater range of affect (regret and joy) for the depressed group, and positive and negative outcome events with inaction resulted in greater affect (regret and joy) for the nondepressed group. The depressed and nondepressed groups did not differ in their focus on the self or other within their counterfactual thoughts in response to a positive or negative eventAlso, no differences between the depressed and nondepressed groups use of upward and downward counterfactual thoughts were found. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this study was to determine what effects a self-rewaard procedure involving the visualization of a pleasant scene had upon three operationally defined depressive behaviors. The three depressive behaviors were subjects' average self-confidence ratings, estimates of the rate of external reinforcement, and self-evaluations of their performance on a word association task. According to the self-reinforcement model of depression, a person becomes depressed as a result of a breakdown in any of the three stages, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and self-reward of the self-reinforcement process. In an attempt to examine the role of self-rewards in modifying the three depressive behaviors, a high rate of self-rewarding behavior was used within a design previously utilized by Wener and Rehm (1975). Subjects in the self-reward treatment were hypothesized to manifest a statistical increase in the three depressive behaviors when compared to subjects in the no self-reward treatment. Furthermore, depressed subjects were hypothesized to be statistically lower on the three depressive behaviors than nondepressed subjects. Finally, no statistical difference on the three depressive behaviors was hypothesized when males were compared to females.Students in undergraduate psychology and general education courses at a Midwestern university were solicited as subjects for the study. A total of 380 students volunteered for the study and completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Based on their BDI scores, 96 subjects were selected with equal numbers of depressed and nondepressed, males and females. Just prior to the experimental procedure, subjects completed the BDI for a second time. Due to a shift in depression scores between initial and second presentations, 10 subjects were deleted from the study while another 11 subjects were deleted as a result of visualizing the self-rewarding scene when not requested thus changing the self-reward rate for the no self-reward treatment. The final sample size was 73.During the experimental procedure all subjects were asked to construct a pleasant scene based on their responses to the Reinforcement Survey Schedule while only the self-reward treatment subjects were requested to use the scene. After subjects gave a response to the cue word, they were asked how confident they were of their response. The other two dependent variables were obtained by asking, at the conclusion of the word association task, how well they felt they had done and how many times they were correct.Statistical processing of the data consisted of two, three-factor, non-orthogonal analyses of variance with the third factor (tester) blocked. All factors were reordered to determine their independent contribution. The first analysis eras multivariate in nature since both the average self-confidence rating and estimate of the rate of external reinforcement were used. The second analysis was univariate in nature since only self-evaluation was used. The use of a self-reward procedure involving the visualization of a pleasant scene was found to increase only subjects’ estimates of the rate of external reinforcement. No effects were found for average self-confidence ratings and self-evaluations. Thus, the self-reward procedure appeared to effect perceptions but not variables more centrally related to the self-concept, also, the self-reward procedure did not affect people in the same manner as external reinforcement. Depressed females had significantly lower self-confidence ratings and self-evaluations then nondepressed females, which lent support to the cognitive and self-reinforcement models of depression. Finally, as a result of a difference in depression levels between males and females, the validity of assuming males and females to express their depression in a similar manner was questioned.

The role of serotonin (51M) in the physiological regulation of AVP secretion is controversial. Neuroanatomical studies, largely in rats but also in human brains, have suggested that 5HT may have a direct modulatory effect on magnocellular vasopressin (AVP) secretion. Pharmacological and neurophysiological studies in animals have provided further evidence to support this and suggest that increase in 5HT neurotransmission leads to a rise in plasma AVP and that 5HT may be important in osmoregulated AVP secretion Studies investigating the importance of 511T as a modulator of AVP release in humans have not be undertaken. Indirect evidence of a putative role derives from the occurrence of hyponatraemia, and possible inappropriate AVP secretion,associated with the clinical use of drugs, particularly antidepressants, which have effects on 5HT neurotransmission. In addition there has been some suggestion that AVP secretion may be abnormal in depression where there is a putative abnormality of the 5HT nervous system. This research has approached the study of anatomical and physiological relationships between 5HT and AVP in 3 ways. Firstly through studies in normal man, secondly by studies in depressed patients, as a putative disease model of 5HT neurotransmission, and thirdly to more extensively explore the effect of pharmacological manipulation of 5HT neurotransmission using an animal model of osmoregulation. Studies in man found no evidence that 7 days treatment with a 5HT reuptake inhibitor (Fluoxetine) had a significant effect on osmoregulated AVP secretion. Studies in elderly depressed patients showed that there was an apparent deficiency of osmoregulated AVP secretion with normal ageing but found no evidence that either moderate depressive il lness, or treatment of the depression with Fluoxetine, had significant effect on water balance. Studies in the rat model of osmoregulation showed that acute 5HT reuptake inhibition stimulated basal AVP secretion and increased the osmotic sensitivity of AVP secretion but had no effect on the osmotic threshold of secretion. Chronic treatment (21 days) with the reuptake inhibitor had no significant effect on basal AVP secretion or on the osmotic threshold but significantly decreased the osmotic sensitivity of AVP secretion. Studies with the 5HT2/5HTIc antagonist, Ritanserin, and the 5HT2 agonist, DOI, suggested that this modulatory effect was not mediated through these receptor subtypes. Autoradiographic studies identified a low density of 5HT2 and 5HTIa receptors in the vicinity of the magnocellular neurons of the rat hypothalamus. The results suggested that 5HT modulates AVP secretion indirectly, possibly by inhibition of inhibitory afferent stimuli. This is of little physiological consequencien the normal rat and probably in healthy man where there is rapid accommodation and autoregulation. In situations where there is a dysfunction of the normal adaptive mechanisms such as in depression,the role of 5HT may be more important and occasionally may lead to severe hyponatraemia.

This study focused on depression-proneness in the creative achiever compared to the eminent but non-creative achiever. Forty-eight subjects' (25 male, 23 female) autobiographies were assessed on personality using the California Q-Set (Block, 1961). Creative achievers were divided into visual and literary creators while the control group was made up of political, military and social leaders. The Q-Set items were divided into the five factors of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness) according to McCrae, Costa and Busch (1986). Using factor analysis, neuroticism was further divided into 6 facets, two of which corresponded to Costa and McCrae's depression and impulsivity items. Results showed that creative achievers scored significantly higher than controls on neuroticism and openness, while controls scored significantly higher on conscientiousness. Creative achievers rated significantly higher than controls on depression-proneness and impulsivity, with literary artists scoring particularly high on depression-proneness. Creativity as a method for controlling depression is discussed.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 117-132. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xi, 132 leaves, bound 29 cm

Thesis (MPsy(Clinical))--University of South Australia, 2001.

Bibliography: leaves 252-286. / xiii, 286 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1998

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-117). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR19652