How Depression shapes our self-concept…
Thursday, April 18, 2024.
Depression can profoundly influence how humans perceive themselves, leading to a negative self-concept.
This distorted self-view often includes feelings of worthlessness, incapability, and a sense of being stuck without a way forward.
Research suggests that this negative self-schema develops as depressed folks selectively remember and focus on negative events in their lives.
These events, which might be minor mishaps or common life challenges, are magnified in their minds, contributing to a skewed perception of themselves.
In contrast, mentally healthy humans exhibit what psychologists call 'mnemic neglect,' where they tend to forget negative memories, especially those related to their core traits, and instead, selectively remember positive experiences.
This tendency helps maintain a more positive self-schema, even in the face of adversity.
Dr. Noboru Matsumoto, the lead author of a recent study exploring these phenomena, explains that people with psychiatric disorders, including major depression, often hold negative self-schemas such as 'I am incompetent' or 'I am a failure.' However, the processes underlying the formation and updating of these self-schemas are still not fully understood.
The study examined how feedback about themselves affected individuals' self-perception. The results showed that those who were more depressed tended to react more strongly to negative feedback, leading to greater self-schema updating.
The researchers also conducted simulations to model how these biases in memory recall might accumulate over time, shaping individuals' self-schemas. They found that individuals who are highly reactive to negative events, especially when exposed to them early in life, are more likely to develop a persistently negative self-concept. This negative self-view can persist even in the presence of positive life experiences later on.
Dr. Matsumoto suggests that altering how people encode and integrate events into their self-schemas could be key to preventing and treating mental illness. By understanding these processes, researchers hope to develop more effective interventions to help individuals develop a healthier self-concept and improve their mental well-being.
The study, published in the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, sheds light on the complex interplay between memory, self-perception, and mental health, offering valuable insights into the development and treatment of mental illness.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Matsumoto, N., Katahira, K. & Kawaguchi, J. Cognitive Reactivity Amplifies the Activation and Development of Negative Self-schema: A Revised Mnemic Neglect Paradigm and Computational Modelling. Cogn Ther Res 47, 38–51 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-022-10332-x
