Depressive cognition: self-reference and depth of processing

Abstract

Cognitive models of depression, which propose that depression is associated with negatively biased thinking, have typically focused on either the content or the processes of depressive cognition. Content-based models suggest that depressive thought is more negative for self-relevant than for externally-focused content. Process-based models propose that early, automatic processes are not negatively biased in depression, but that deeper processes are biased. The current review evaluates evidence for both the self-relevant content and depth of processing accounts, and concludes that there is substantial evidence for both models. I call for further research which integrates content and process-based approaches by using self-relevant stimuli and cognitive measures which precisely identify the specific attention, memory, and interpretation processes affected in depression.