The relationship between depression and the behavior of self-administered reward and punishment was examined among college students. Students scoring high and low on the Beck Depression Inventory were compared on a memory task on which they were to self-reward or self-punish their responses. There were no differences in actual accuracy of memory or in frequency of self-reward, but depressed subjects gave themselves more self-punishment. The results were discussed in light of previous research on self-control behavior of depressed persons.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BanduraA.Self-reinforcement: Theoretical and methodological considerations. Behaviorism, 1976, 4, 135–155.
2.
BeckA. T.WardC. H.MendelsohnM.MockJ.ErbaughJ.An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1961, 4, 561–571.
3.
BellackA. S.TillmanW.Effects of task and experimenter feedback on the self-reinforcement behavior of internals and externals. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1974, 42, 330–336.
4.
CataniaA. C.The myth of self-reinforcement. Behaviorism, 1975, 3, 192–199.
5.
FersterC. B.A functional analysis of depression. American Psychologist, 1973, 28, 857–870.
6.
FuchsC. Z.RehmL. P.A self-control behavior therapy program for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1977, 45, 206–215.
7.
GoldiamondI.Self-reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1976, 9, 509–514.
8.
GoldfriedM. R.MerbaumM.Behavior change through self-control. New York: Holt, Rinihart & Winston, 1973.
9.
GrosscupS. J.LewinsohnP. M.Unpleasant and pleasant events, and mood. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1980, 36, 252–259.
10.
JacksonB.Treatment of depression by self-reinforcement. Behavior Therapy, 1972, 6,. 298–307.
11.
KanferF. H.Self-regulation: Research issues and speculations. In NeuringerC.MichaelJ. L. (Eds.), Behavior modification in clinical psychology. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, 1970. Pp. 178–220.
12.
KanferF. H.The maintenance of behavior by self-generated stimuli and reinforcement. In JacobsA.SachsL. B. (Eds.), The psychology of private events: Perspectives on covert response systems. New York: Academic Press, 1971. Pp. 39–59.
13.
LazarusA. A.Learning theory and the treatment of depression. Behavior Research and Therapy, 1968, 6, 83–89.
14.
LewinsohnP. M.A behavioral approach to depression. In FriedmanR. M.KatzM. M. (Eds.), The psychology of depression: Contemporary theory and research. New York: Wiley, 1974. Pp. 157–185.
15.
LewinsohnP. M.GrafM.Pleasant activities and depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1973, 41, 261–268.
16.
LewinsohnP. M.LibetJ.Pleasant events, activity schedules and depressions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1972, 79, 291–295.
17.
LibermanR. P.RaskinD. E.Depression: A behavioral formulation. Archives of General Psychiatry, 1971, 24, 515–523.
18.
MahoneyM. J.Terminal terminology: A self-regulated response to Goldiamond. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1976, 9, 515–517.
RehmL. P.A self-control model of depression. Behavior Therapy, 1977, 8, 787–804.
21.
RehmL. P.Mood, pleasant events and unpleasant events: Two pilot studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1978, 46, 854–859.
22.
RehmL. P.FuchsC. Z.RothD.KornblithS. J.RomanoJ.A comparison of self-control and social skills treatments of depression. Behavior Therapy, 1979, 10, 429–442.
23.
RozenskyR. H.RehmL. P.PryG.RothD.Depression and self-reinforcement behavior in hospitalized patients. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 1977, 8, 35–38.
