An Experimental Paradigm for Triggering Depressive Rumination
Max Altman, B. Arts Sc.
Most experimental research on depression currently employs sad mood inductions (e.g., watching a sad movie, listening to sad music) to test hypotheses (Kuehner et al., 2007). However, sadness represents just one symptom of a major depressive episode (MDE), and it is unknown whether sad mood inductions alone can trigger the larger suite of symptoms that characterize the syndrome. Consequently, most studies of human depression use correlational or case-control methods (Fazel et al., 2008; Newton-Howes et al., 2006; Rich & Scovel, 1987).
My research focuses on developing and implementing an experimental paradigm capable of triggering most of the psychological symptoms of depression, including sad mood, anhedonia, feelings of worthlessness, and difficulty concentrating. Establishing experimental control over multiple symptoms of depression can help to better approximate an MDE in a laboratory setting and consequently improve our understanding of the etiology of the MDE syndrome (Saveanu & Nemeroff, 2012).
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Kuehner, C., Holzhauer, S., & Huffziger, S. (2007). Decreased cortisol response to awakening is associated with cognitive vulnerability to depression in a nonclinical sample of young adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32(2), 199-209.
Fazel, S., Khosla, V., Doll, H., & Geddes, J. (2008). The prevalence of mental disorders among the homeless in western countries: systematic review and meta-regression analysis. PLoS medicine, 5(12), e225.
Newton-Howes, G., Tyrer, P., & Johnson, T. (2006). Personality disorder and the outcome of depression: meta-analysis of published studies. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 188(1), 13-20.
Rich, A. R., & Scovel, M. (1987). Causes of depression in college students: A cross-lagged panel correlational analysis. Psychological Reports, 60(1), 27-30.
Saveanu, R. V., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2012). Etiology of depression: genetic and environmental factors. Psychiatric clinics, 35(1), 51-71.
Unusual Sensory Experiences Reported by Bereaved Individuals
Max Altman, B. Arts Sc.
Bereavement following the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most challenging experiences. The bereavement process involves significant emotional, cognitive, and behavioural changes, many of which overlap with the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). Approximately, 40-60% of bereaved individuals report an unusual sensory experience following a significant loss (Keen et al., 2013). These unusual sensory experiences (USE) encompass a broad range of phenomena, such as hallucinations and misperceptions, where a discrepancy exists between perceived and actual reality.
Notably, the content of these experiences often relates directly related to or is interpreted as an extension of the relationship with the deceased (Hayes & Leudar, 2016). My research aims to understand how and why these experiences are valuable in emotionally processing the loss of a loved one. I hypothesize that unusual sensory experiences involuntarily expose bereaved individuals to their distressing thoughts and feelings, ultimately facilitating adaptive rumination and emotional processing.
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Keen, C., Murray, C., & Payne, S. (2013). Sensing the presence of the deceased: A narrative review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 16(4), 384-402.
Hayes, J., & Leudar, I. (2016). Experiences of continued presence: On the practical consequences of ‘hallucinations’ in bereavement. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 89(2), 194-210.
Sex and Gender Differences in Depression
Courtney D. Aucoin, MSc.
Self identified women are 2 to 3 times more likely than self-identified men to be depressed worldwide (Salk et al., 2017). According to the conventional view, depression is a disorder—the result of something malfunctioning in the brain (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). However, this view has been criticized as a socially constructed narrative that lacks an objective component (Horwitz & Wakefield, 2007; Frances & Nardo, 2013). As applied to the sex/gender difference, the disorder narrative argues that women are 2-3 times more likely than men to have something malfunction in their brains. Sadly, this is consistent with a long, sad history in psychiatry in which women’s emotional responses were pathologized simply because they differ from those of men (as if men were the appropriate yardstick for determining normality) (Kaplan, 1983; Tasca et al., 2012).
I am interested in testing the disorder narrative against alternative hypotheses for the sex difference rooted in the view that depression is a normal emotional response that is triggered by complex stressors.
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American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
Frances, A. J., & Nardo, J. M. (2013). ICD-11 should not repeat the mistakes made by DSM-5. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 203(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.127647
Horwitz, A. V., & Wakefield, J. C. (2007). The loss of sadness how psychiatry transformed normal sorrow into depressive disorder. Oxford University Press.
Kaplan, M. (1983). A woman’s view of DSM-III. American Psychologist, 38(7), 786–792. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.38.7.786
Salk, R. H., Hyde, J. S., & Abramson, L. Y. (2017). Gender differences in depression in representative national samples: Meta-analyses of diagnoses and symptoms. Psychological Bulletin, 143(8), 783–822. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000102
Tasca, C., Rapetti, M., Carta, M. G., & Fadda, B. (2012). Women and hysteria in the history of mental health. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health : CP & EMH, 8, 110–119.
Metacognition and Depressive Rumination
Metacognition exists at a meta-level of higher order thinking allowing for the appraisal of one’s thoughts (Flavell, 1979). Metacognition has been applied to rumination wherein individuals can hold positive and/or negative metacognitive beliefs towards their rumination (PMBR; NMBR; Papageorgiou & Wells, 2001a). Those who have PMBR believe their rumination is a useful tool for emotional regulation, and those with NMBR consider their rumination to be uncontrollable and interpersonally damaging (Papageorgiou & Wells, 2001b; Papageorgiou & Wells, 2003). Most studies that builds upon these ideas follow the clinical interpretation: both PMBR and NMBR are harmful because PMBR encourage rumination, and NMBR lead to the host of negative emotional experiences (Papageorgiou & Wells, 2001b).
The purpose of my research is to assess metacognitive beliefs through an adaptationist lens. That is, perhaps PMBR and NMBR are not both harmful, instead they may serve their own unique functions. But this can only be determined if one intends to understand their evolved function. Further, I aim to expand the concept of metacognitive beliefs to other topics such as suicide.
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Brown, A. L. (1978). Knowing when, where, and how to remember: A problem of metacognition. 1, 77–165.
Dunlosky, J., & Metcalfe, J. (2008). Metacognition. SAGE Publications.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906.
Livingston, J. A. (n.d.). Metacognition: An Overview.
Papageorgiou, C., & Wells, A. (2001a). Metacognitive beliefs about rumination in recurrent major depression. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 8(2), 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1077-7229(01)80021-3
Papageorgiou, C., & Wells, A. (2001b). Positive beliefs about depressive rumination: Development and preliminary validation of a self-report scale. Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(01)80041-1
Papageorgiou, C., & Wells, A. (2003). An Empirical Test of a Clinical Metacognitive Model of Rumination and Depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27(3), 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023962332399
Suicide as an Adaptation
Anmol Thind, HBSc.
Suicidal desire has been generally been considered disordered. For why would someone end their life if the goal of natural selection is to pass on one’s genes? Following the natural selection argument, why then have suicidal behaviours persisted? It is possible that suicidal behaviours may have served an adaptive benefit. My research aims to understand the possible evolved function suicide.
This research is informed by ideas such as the inclusive fitness theory by De Catanzaro (1995), wherein engaging in suicidal behaviours can be considered adaptive for one’s kin. If an individual does not have significant direct fitness prospects, and their existence harms their kin’s fitness, their inclusive fitness prospects are low. While they may not be able to improve their own direct fitness, it is possible that they can reduce the damage to their kin’s fitness through suicide. This would then lead to a higher level of inclusive fitness than if they were to continue to live.
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De Catanzaro, D. (1995). Reproductive status, family interactions, and suicidal ideation: Surveys of the general public and high-risk groups. Ethology and Sociobiology, 16(5), 385–394.