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Subjective and expressive emotional responses in depression
D M Sloan1, M E Strauss, S W Quirk
1Psychology Service (116B), Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Brecksville Unit, Brecksville, OH 44141, USA.
Journal of Affective Disorders
|February 28, 1998
Summary
Depressed patients show reduced subjective pleasure from positive stimuli but not negative ones. Observable emotional responses in depression may differ from self-reported feelings, suggesting varied assessment methods are needed.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Affective Science
Background:
- Depression is often associated with emotional blunting.
- Previous research suggests altered emotional processing in major depressive disorder.
- The specific nature of emotional responsivity changes in depression requires further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate subjective and observable emotional responsivity to positive and negative stimuli in depressed versus nondepressed individuals.
- To explore potential dissociations between self-reported affect and facial expressions in depression.
- To determine if emotional blunting in depression is stimulus-specific.
Main Methods:
- Recruitment of 24 male patients with depression and 23 nondepressed male controls.
- Rating of pleasantness and arousal for slides with varying hedonic content.
- Videotape analysis of facial expressions during slide viewing.
Main Results:
- Depressed patients reported lower pleasantness and arousal for positive slides compared to controls.
- No significant differences in subjective response to negative slides between groups.
- Depressed patients displayed more negative facial expressions to negative slides than controls.
- Neither group showed significant affective facial responses to positive stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Diminished subjective emotional response in depression appears specific to positive stimuli, not a generalized blunting.
- A dissociation exists between self-reported and observable emotional responsivity in depression.
- Clinical assessment of emotional responsivity in depression should incorporate multiple modalities beyond observer evaluation.