AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY AND DEPRESSION

Findings addressing the issue of whether depressed individuals more readily recall negative than positive aspects of their past have been conflicting (Moore, Watts & Williams, 1988; Williams & Scott, 1988). A more consistent finding has been a tendency for depressed individuals to retrieve 'overgeneral' autobiographical memories (Brittlebank, Scott, Williams & Ferrier, 1993; Williams & Scott, 1988). In the current study depressed patients and non-depressed controls were asked to generate specific memories in response to a series of positive and negative cue words. No latency bias in recalling memories to negative cues over memories to positive cues was found. However, the more consistent finding that depressed patients have difficulty generating specific memories was supported.