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Subject: Depression, Mental.

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    Rumination and Problem Solving: A Focus on Dispositions, Processes, and the Five-Step Framework
    (North Dakota State University, 2010) Scheller, Katey Rae
    Rumination is a method of responding to and coping with negative moods that involves repetitively and passively focusing on the causes, consequences, and symptoms of negative mood (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991 ). Research has indicated that rumination may be an important vulnerability factor for depression. The present study aimed to add to this literature by investigating the deleterious effects that rumination, the process and characteristic trait, has on all five stages of problem solving. The primary hypothesis was that individuals who were high in trait rumination would demonstrate the least effective problem solving performance when induced to ruminate in comparison to when they were induced to distract and in comparison to those low in trait rumination. Overall, the results did not support this hypothesis. The single significant finding was that individuals rated their solutions as less effective when distracting, regardless of trait rumination. This paper critically reviews the literature on the relationship between rumination and problem solving and makes several suggestions for future research.
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    Conquering Avoidance by Avoiding Death: The Effects of Mortality Salience on Goal Value, Goal Commitment, and Goal Pursuit in Depressive Individuals
    (North Dakota State University, 2010) Myxter, Peter John
    Research into the antecedents and consequences of successful goal pursuit is reviewed within the framework of a proposed existential intervention for depression. Behavioral perspectives propose that insufficient goal pursuit and concomitant positive reinforcement leads to depressed mood. While substantial research has been conducted examining the relation between goal pursuit and psychological well-being, little research exists regarding strategies for fostering increased motivation for goal pursuit in depressed individuals. This review suggests that novel strategies for increasing goal pursuit motivation can be derived from the existential paradigm of Terror Management Theory (TMT). Past TMT research indicates that reminders of mortality lead to greater valuing of the standards and values of one's cultural worldview. The current study screened a sample of individuals exhibiting depressed mood to examine whether reminders of mortality lead to greater valuing and pursuit of individualized goals. Participants were randomly assigned to mortality salience or control condition and completed depression and well-being measures in a baseline session and a follow-up session two weeks later. Results indicated that reminders of mortality did not lead to greater valuing and pursuit of individualized goals.