Table 1.
Candidate methods for assessing dysphoric attention and dysphoric elaboration.
| Task Name | Description | Vulnerability Marker |
|---|---|---|
| Dysphoric attention | ||
| Dot Probe | Present emotional and neutral word simultaneously for > 1 sec, then replace with target ‘dot’ behind one of the words. | Sensitivity as reaction time to negative vs. neutral words (Fritzsche et al., 2010); bias only visible at longer presentation time might indicate combined attention / elaboration components. |
| Emotional Stroop | Record time for reading emotional vs. neutral words printed in different colors. | Sensitivity as reaction time to negative vs. neutral words (Williams, Mathews, & MacLeod, 1996) |
| Spatial Cueing | Cue 1 of 2 spatial locations with either a neutral or negative word or image; cue either rightly or wrongly predicts target location. | Sensitivity as greater effect of cue validity for negative vs. neutral words (Leyman et al., 2007). |
| Eye Tracking | Naturalistic viewing of neutral and dysphoric photographs. | Sensitivity as greater fixation time to dysphoric images (Caseras et al., 2007). |
| Neuroimaging | fMRI analysis of negative vs. neutral stimulus presentation. | Sensitivity as greater amygdala and attenuated DLPFC response to negative images (Ramel et al., 2007). |
| Dysphoric elaboration | ||
| Negative Self-Ideation | Compare endorsement of dysphoric self-descriptors before and after negative mood induction. | Reactivity as elevation of dysphoric self-descriptors (Segal, Gemar, & Williams, 1999); in situations where elevation is not apparent, negative mood elevation or high baseline self-ideation may also serve as risk predictors (van Rijsbergen et al., 2013). |
| Scrambled Sentence Completion | Create either positively or negatively valenced sentences from scrambled words. | Negative completion trend predicts MDD symptoms (Rude, Wenzlaff, Gibbs, Vane, & Whitney, 2002) and future diagnosis (Rude, Durham-Fowler, Baum, Rooney, & Maestas, 2010). |
| Dysfunctional Attitudes | Compare endorsement of dysphoric attitudes before and after negative mood induction. | Extended Attributional Style Questionnaire (Peterson & Villanova, 1988) assesses global cause attribution, and the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (Abramson & Metalsky, 1986) assesses attitudes about future and the self. Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale assesses negative thinking patterns (Segal et al., 2006). |
| Avoidance of Negative Affect | Assess self-reported acceptance of negative emotion and ability to nonjudgmentally observe thoughts. | Reactivity as low levels of self-endorsed acceptance or decentering (Bieling et al., 2012). |
| Neuroimaging | Compare neural reactivity between neutral and dysphoric film clips. | Reactivity as elevated medial prefrontal and reduced sensory cortex activation during sad film viewing (Farb et al., 2011). |
Note: see De Raedt & Koster (2010) for a different review of attentional paradigms in depression.