Cognitive Concomitants of Depression: A Further Examination of the Roles of Generalization, High Standards, and Self-Criticism

Prior research has found that self-reports of the tendency to generalize from a bad outcome to a broader sense of self-worth are associated with depression. In contrast, self-reports of the tendency to maintain high standards for self-evaluation and the tendency to be self-critical about the failure to meet standards were unrelated to depression. In the six studies reported here we attempted to extend that finding in several ways. A new assessment device was created (Study 1), with more sharply focused items than those of the original scale. Using the new device, we replicated several previous findings (Studies 2-6), including the association between depression and generalization and the absence of association between depression and either self-criticism or high standards. This pattern was obtained in a sample of West German students (Study 3) and in a sample of psychiatric inpatients (Study 5) as well as among American students (Studies 2, 4, and 6). Studies 2-4 tested for, but found no evidence of, a unidirectional causal connection between generalization and depression, assessed via cross-lag correlations. Study 6 found an additional association between depression and the self-reported tendency to perseverate mentally on failures. The most plausible interpretation of this finding, however, appears to be that perseveration is a manifestation of the tendency to generalize.