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Theories of depression: The role of goals and the self-evaluation process

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Abstract

The most influential psychological theories of depression all maintain that evaluation plays a role in depression. Evaluation of an outcome has two subcomponents: an outcome, either actual or anticipated, and a criterion against which the outcome is measured. The criterion can be either a task-defined goal or the product of a social comparison. Most evaluation-related research has focused on the outcome that is evaluated rather than on the criterion. This paper reviews the studies that have examined the relations of goals and social comparisons to depression, as well as related work on goals and motivation. Some theories have suggested that depressed people set excessively high goals, but few studies have tested this hypothesis, and those have come to different conclusions. Little more has been said about the relations of goals and social comparisons to depression. In addition, the studies on goals and social comparisons have tested only whether the key variables are symptomatic of depression, not whether they contribute to depression. The crucial area of goal setting has been underexamined in depression research. This paper suggests directions that research on the role of evaluation processes in depression should take and outlines some basic requirements for that research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, USA

    Anthony H. Ahrens

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  1. Anthony H. Ahrens
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Many thanks to Al Bandura, Dan Cervone, Cathryn Downing, Phoebe Ellsworth, Ian Gotlib, Vicki Smith, three anonymous reviewers, and especially David Rosenhan, Craig Smith, and Toni Zeiss, for their helpful comments on previous drafts of this paper. Preparation of this paper was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship to the author.

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Ahrens, A.H. Theories of depression: The role of goals and the self-evaluation process. Cogn Ther Res 11, 665–680 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01176004

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