How Can I Know You If I Don’t Know Myself? Low Awareness of Cognition as a Mechanism Underlying Poor Theory of Mind Accuracy In Depression
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Authors
Gallagher, Anna
Date
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thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Depression , Theory of mind , Egocentric bias
Alternative Title
Abstract
Depression is associated with lower accuracy in the ability to decode and reason about the mental states of others – “theory of mind.” Theory of mind judgements are made, in part, based on a heuristic that others’ mental states are similar to one’s own – “egocentric bias.” However, having an egocentric bias presupposes that one has sufficient awareness of one’s own mental states. The current study tested two primary hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that compared to never-depressed and past-depressed individuals, individuals with current depression will have poorer theory of mind accuracy, report greater difficulty accessing their own mental states, and show less evidence of an egocentric bias. Second, we hypothesized that difficulty accessing one’s own mental states and egocentric bias will significantly mediate the relation of depression group and theory of mind accuracy. The sample was comprised of 183 individuals (37 currently depressed, 76 past-depressed, and 70 never-depressed based on a structured diagnostic interview). Awareness of one’s own mental states was assessed with a novel self-report questionnaire. Egocentric bias and theory of mind decoding accuracy were assessed with the Dot Perspective Task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, respectively. First, as hypothesized, currently depressed individuals reported significantly greater difficulty accessing their own mental states as compared to past-depressed and never-depressed individuals. However, contrary to my hypotheses, currently depressed individuals did not significantly differ from never-depressed or past-depressed individuals in terms of theory of mind decoding accuracy or egocentric bias. Further, difficulty accessing one’s own mental states and egocentric bias did not significantly mediate the relation of depression group and theory of mind decoding accuracy. Results suggest that depression may be associated with difficulty accessing one’s own mental states, which may have important implications for clinical conceptualizations of depression and treatment. Given the unexpected null findings, further research is needed to understand socio-cognitive mechanisms underlying theory of mind and its relation to depression.
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ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.