Title: An experimental study of the diathesis-stress model of depression
Abstract:The diathesis-stress model of depression predicts that depressed individuals tend to demonstrate more depressive reactions than nondepressed individuals when confronted with uncontrollable events. Twe...The diathesis-stress model of depression predicts that depressed individuals tend to demonstrate more depressive reactions than nondepressed individuals when confronted with uncontrollable events. Twenty-two female students were exopsed 80 times to such uncontrollable aversive noises. Then they were tested on 80 controllable test tasks. The results were as fonows: Compared to nondepressed students, depressed students were more helpless, less motivated, and showed lower expectations of future success after the uncontronable noises. Compared to the nondepressed, however, depressed students didn't show any lower level of performance on the test task. These results were consistent with previous studies, and partially supported the diathesis-stress model of depression. Further research emoplying different methodologies is needed to examine the diatheseis-stress model of depression.Read More