Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Positive mood on negative self-statements: paradoxical intervention in geriatric patients with major depressive
Claudia Lanza1, Christine Müller1, Matthias W Riepe1
1a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II, Mental Health and Old Age Psychiatry , Ulm University , Ulm , Germany.
Objectives:
Mood regulation is said to be age-specific. Negative self-statements (NST) are used to induce negative mood. However, little is known about NST in older persons and geriatric patients with major depressive disorder.
Method:
We investigated healthy young (YC) and older (OC) control subjects and older patients with major depressive disorder (OP). Subjects were exposed to NST subsequent to baseline assessment comprising psychological and psychometric tests. Preferences for emotionally salient stimuli were measured with an eye-tracking task.
Results:
Mood in YC shifted towards depressive mood or remained stable on NST. In OC and more so in OP some subjects responded paradoxically subsequent to NST with mood being more positive than at baseline. Extent and direction of mood change correlated with prevailing mood at baseline and total score in the Hamilton Depression Anxiety Scale. At baseline, YC had a preference for 'happy' stimuli. Subsequent to NST view preference shifted towards 'sad.' In contrast, OC had no preference at baseline but shifted towards 'happy' on NST.
Conclusions:
Mood change on NST is age-specific. In geriatric patients with depressive disorder, however, NST may induce a shift towards more positive mood and thus may be used in future as a therapeutic intervention.
Related Concept Videos
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Depressive Disorders: MDD and Dysthymia
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
The Influence of Affect on Cognition
