Paul H. Blaney’s research while affiliated with University of Miami and other places

A music mood induction was used to induce either elated, depressed, or neutral mood in 71 college undergraduates. The elated group scored significantly higher than the depressed group on mood ratings. Creativity measures administered to each group revealed that subjects in the elated and depressed groups showed significantly greater creativity than subjects in the neutral group. Findings were interpreted in light of existing research on the relationship between mood and creativity. 1995 Creative Education Foundation

We conducted five studies with depressed patients, demographically matched controls, and college students to develop and psychometrically evaluate new measures of concerns about interpersonal relationships (sociotropy) and autonomous achievement (autonomy), constructs that have been proposed to confer vulnerability to depression. The final version of the Personal Style Inventory (PSI) Sociotropy and Autonomy scales showed a good factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest stability, a low correlation with each other, and weak or no gender differences. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined with respect to depressive symptom levels, the Dependency and Self-Criticism scales of the Revised Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and a social desirability scale and were generally acceptable. Further evaluations of the construct validity of the PSI are indicated.

Several theorists have posited two focuses for depressive experience and/or vulnerability: dependency and rejection, and self-criticism and failure. In turn, three instruments have emerged, each addressing these two components, respectively: the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Dependent and Self-Critical scales), the Sociotropy-Autonomy Scales (SAS), and the Anaclitic and Introjective Dysfunctional Attitude Scales (DAS). In this study, we addressed the relations within and among these three pairs of scales in a large undergraduate sample. Generally, the DEQ-Dependent, SAS-Sociotrophy, and DAS-Anaclitic scales showed substantial convergent and discriminant validity. Although this was true also for the DEQ-Self-Critical and DAS-Introjective scales, neither scale was closely related to the SAS-Autonomy scale, which appeared instead to be a better measure of counter dependency than a measure of self-critical, introjective features.

A considerable, but sometimes inconsistent, body of research exists indicating that affective state imposes a mood congruent bias upon memory. The present study sought to identify the conditions under which this bias is present. College students were classified as dysphoric vs. nondysphoric on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-SF). Memories elicited were of recent autobiographical events, subsequently rated with respect to happiness/unhappiness. Two variables were considered: gender, and whether or not the subject had completed the BDI-SF just prior to generating memories. Among males who had not just taken the BDI-SF, mood congruence was absent. Both being female and completing the BDI-SF resulted in mood congruence, and these effects were additive. This indicates that mood congruence requires a modicum of awareness of one's own mood state—an awareness which is perhaps chronic among females and which becomes elevated in both genders simply by completing a mood-relevant self-report form.

Retrospective reports regarding parent-child and parent-parent relations during the childrearing years were obtained from adult informants. Male undergraduates typed as As or Bs completed the Clarke Parent/Child Relations Questionnaire augmented with items of likely relevance to A/B. Parallel data were obtained from a subset of subjects' fathers and mothers. Type A and B groups were not different on numerous variables, including parental aggressiveness, vague or escalating standard-setting, or work orientedness. Type A sons were more inclined to view their fathers as attaching great importance to achievement, as setting hard-to-meet expectations, as being unimpressed with son's achievements, and as relating in a competitive way. Differences regarding sons' perceptions of mother were less marked. It is not yet clear to what extent these perceptions (particularly the sons' perceptions of their fathers) are accurate and may thus have played a role in the development of A/B differences, or instead represent a son's judgmental biases associated with his A/B status.

In this study we investigated several variables as potential predictors of success in completing a transition program after treatment for alcoholism. Subjects were 54 men who had completed a 30-day treatment program and who were subsequently admitted to a 90-day inpatient aftercare program. The outcome measure was successful completion of this latter program. Predictor variables were dispositional optimism, hassles, uplifts, and several demographic variables. Optimism was positively associated with successful outcome. The simple association between uplifts and outcome also approached significance, but in the opposite to expected direction. Discriminant analyses used both of these variables, as well as age and education level, as predictors of successful outcome. There was no evidence of a role for hassles. Discussion centers on the importance of dispositional optimism as a predictor of successful adaptation in a variety of behavioral domains.

Prior research has indicated that both the Type A behavior pattern and recent life stress may increase risk for heart disease and has suggested that social (e.g., marital) support may (a) be influenced by Type A and (b) serve as a moderating influence in the stress-illness relationship. To assess relationships among these variables, both members of 101 married couples were assessed among these variables, both members of 101 married couples were assessed on self-reports of A-B status, life stress, and marital adjustment. Results indicated substantially lower adjustment in one of the four possible husband-wife pairings: A husband/B wife. The poor adjustment of this pairing may reflect the work (rather than home and marriage) orientedness of the A husband, a negative force in the marriage which may be contrasted with the wife's traditional commitment to the successful functioning of the home, a commitment which is sufficient to counter the Type A husband's negative effect only when the wife is a Type A herself.

This article provides a critical review of the empirical literature on the role of depression and elation in biasing mnemonic processing. Two classes of effects—state dependence and mood congruence—are examined. The latter, which involves the enhanced encoding and/or retrieval of material the affective valence of which is congruent with ongoing mood, is the more extensively researched of the two and is thus the focus of much of the present review. Though the support for claims of such a phenomenon is impressive in its size, consistency, and diversity, a number of questions remain. These include whether such effects are linked to mood states per se, and the possible role that such effects may play in the development of persistent depression.

Conducted 3 studies to test a model of the cognitive performance deficits shown in depression. The model proposes that such deficits occur as an interaction of expectancy and focus of attention variables, that is, in the presence of both low expectancy of success and high self-focus. In Study 1 (a pilot study), 11 depressed Ss (DSs) and 16 nondepressed Ss (NSs) were selected from a large pool of undergraduate students who were administered the Beck Depression Inventory. Results indicate that DSs evidenced poorer anagram performance, greater self-focus, and lower pretask expectancies than did NSs. Study 2, conducted with 60 Ss drawn from the Study 1 S pool, showed that NSs evidenced performance deficits only when both expectancy was lowered and self-focus was increased. Data from the 59 Ss (also selected from the Study 1 S pool) in Study 3 suggest that DSs' performance deficits were overcome either by lowering self-focus or by raising expectancy. Discussed are discrepancies between self-report and performance data; the relevance of these studies to the test anxiety literature; the need to integrate literature concerning the effects of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem on performance; and how the interactive roles of positive expectancy and focus of attention may be related to effective coping in a variety of situations. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Previous research has found mixed support for the possibility that locus of control moderates the effects of life stress on depression. Two methodological choices may have influenced previous findings: the use of a unidimensional rather than a multidimensional locus of control scale, and reliance on linear statistical methods using median splits. We attempted to correct these choices by using the Levenson IPC scale (1974) and multiple regression analyses in a female undergraduate population (N = 158). The results supported use of a multidimensional scale, since Stress, Internality, and Powerful Others were found to have main effects on depression whereas Chance interacted with life stress. The question of whether locus of control refers to responsibility for causing an event, i.e., self-blame, or belief in control over future events, i.e., coping behavior, was discussed.