Citation

Compton RJ, Lin M, Vargas G, Carp J, Fineman SL, Quandt LC. Emotion 2008; 8(1): 58-67.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, PA 19041, USA. rcompton@haverford.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/1528-3542.8.1.58

PMID

18266516

Abstract

This study examined the influence of depression on error-monitoring and behavioral compensation after errors, two important aspects of cognitive control. Undergraduates differing in self-reported depression levels completed a modified Stroop task while error-related scalp potentials were recorded. Behaviorally, participants with higher depression scores were disproportionately slower and less accurate after errors in a task condition that included negative emotional words. Physiological results indicated that the amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), two indices of error detection, were not correlated with depression score. ERN amplitudes predicted behavioral slowdown after errors, but only among more depressed participants in the negative-word condition. Together, the results imply that depression is associated not with an error detection deficit, but rather with alterations in subsequent performance changes, once errors have been identified.

Language: en