Chapter 9 - The interplay among attention, interpretation, and memory biases in depression: Revisiting the combined cognitive bias hypothesis

Abstract

Cognitive biases are theorized to play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of depression. Although these cognitive biases have been investigated extensively, their interplay has received relatively limited conceptual and empirical attention. Yet, recent years have witnessed an important upsurge of empirical studies addressing different aspects of the interplay among cognitive biases in depression. This chapter reviews recent research findings and theoretical and methodological innovations in this area of research. We start by describing recent conceptual contributions that can inform upon the interplay among cognitive biases in depression. Then, we discuss the major methods that have been used to address different questions regarding the interplay among cognitive biases. Next, we review recent empirical studies that have directly examined links between attention, interpretation, and/or memory biases related to depression. Finally, we discuss limitations of existing research and propose a number of ways in which this area of research can be taken forward.