Counterfactual Thinking-Related Emotional Responses in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Objective: To explore the emotional characteristics of counterfactual thinking (CT)-related emotion responses in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) via the "counterfactual thinking gambling task (CTGT)." Method: Twenty-five patients with MDD (the MDD group) and twenty-five healthy controls (the HC group) with matched demographic features were included. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) were used to assess the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms. The counterfactual thinking gambling task was applied to assess the situation-focused- and behavior-focused-CT-related emotion responses in the MDD group and the HC group. Results: There was no significant difference in general demographic data between the two groups ( p > 0.05). Compared with the HC group, the MDD group experienced higher levels of " disappointment " and lower levels of " joy " in the situation-focused CT paradigm ( p regret " and " relief " in the behavior-focused CT paradigm were not significantly different between the two groups ( p > 0.05). Conclusions: MDD is associated with an impaired situation-focused-CT-related emotion responses, and is often accompanied by increased disappointment and decreased joy; however, behavior-focused-CT-related emotion responses are not significantly affected in MDD. This pattern may represent the characteristic CT-related emotion responses of MDD

Anxiety · Counterfactual thinking · Depression (economics · Developmental psychology · Disappointment · Generalized anxiety disorder · Hamd · Major depressive disorder · Mood · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Rating scale · Regret · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Emotional Reactions to the Outcomes of Decisions

  Open Access•Marcel Zeelenberg, Wilco W Van Dijk et al.•Organizational Behavior and Human…•1998

  Incluir item

• Disappointment in Decision Making Under Uncertainty

  David E Bell•Operations Research•1985

  Incluir item

• Counterfactual Thought

  Ruth M J Byrne•Annual Review of Psychology•2016

  Incluir item

• The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking

  Open Access•Kai Epstude, Neal J Roese•Personality and Social Psychology…•2008

  Incluir item

• Individual Differences in Subjective Utility and Risk Preferences

  Open Access•Jonathon R Howlett, Martin P Paulus•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2017

  Incluir item

• If only I weren't" versus "If only I hadn't

  Paula M Niedenthal, June P Tangney et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•1994

  Incluir item

• From what might have been to what must have been

  Laura J Kray, Linda G George et al.•Journal of Personality and Social…•2010

  Incluir item