A comparison of cognitive and behavioral inductions of negative mood

Sixty undergraduate subjects were exposed to one of three depressive mood inductions: cognitive, behavioral, or control. Subjects in the cognitive induction group read negative self-statements consistent with Beck's (1974) cognitive theory of depression. Subjects in the behavioral induction group were exposed to insoluble discrimination problems consistent with Lewinsohn's (1974) behavioral theory that lack of reinforcement produces depression. The control group read a neutral passage. Following the mood induction, subjects rated their current moods using the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist (MAACL; Zuckerman & Lubin, 1965). The cognitive and behavioral inductions produced significantly higher MAACL total and subscale scores than did the control condition; however, the cognitive and behavioral inductions did not differ from one another. Because the cognitive and behavioral mood inductions appear equally powerful, they may be used by researchers who are attempting to identify variables that are related to subjects' differing responses to behavioral and cognitive influences on depression.