Depressed and normal individuals differ both in selection and in perceived tonal quality of positive-negative messages.

Abstract

Twenty college undergraduates (10 depressed, 10 nondepressed, in terms of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-III-R) chose freely from a positive or negative tape-recorded message. They also rated the tonal quality of each tape. The nondepressed group selected the positive message more often than the negative message. However, the depressed group showed no difference in tape preference. The nondepressed individuals rated the negative tape as inferior in tonal quality, whereas no difference in tonal quality was reported by the depressed individuals. Results appear to support a response set not only toward positive cognitions among nondepressed individuals, which is absent among depressed individuals, but also toward perceived tonal quality differences.