Self-reinforcement and recall: differential deficits in depressed and nondepressed psychiatric inpatients.

Recent research has examined the role of either self-reinforcement or recall of positive and negative information in the maintenance of depression. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between these two constructs and their relationship to clinical depression. Sixteen depressed and 12 nondepressed psychiatric inpatients and 19 nondepressed hospital employees were presented with a verbal recognition task, and their administration and recall of selfreinforcements and self-punishments were assessed. As predicted, the depressed patients administered fewer self-reinforcements and a greater number of selfpunishments than the hospital employees; however, they did not differ on either of these measures from the nondepressed patients. In terms of recall the depressed patients, to a significantly greater extent than subjects in either of the nondepressed groups, recalled giving themselves fewer reinforcements and a greater number of punishments than was actually the case. Whereas a low rate of selfreinforcement may be characteristic of global psychopathology, deficits in the recall of self-reinforcement and self-punishment appear to be specific to depression. These results are discussed with reference to both cognitive and self-reinforcement conceptualizations of depression. Implications for the treatment of depression are discussed, and directions for future research are advanced.