Abstract
Since the 1990s, “modern-type” depression (MTD), which has different features from melancholic depression, has been reported and has become a mental health problem in Japan. Although psychological studies of MTD are very limited, previous studies have proposed Interpersonal Sensitivity (IS) and Privileged Self (PS) as personality features of MTD. IS and PS are measured by the Interpersonal Sensitivity/Privileged Self Scale (IPS), and the present study examined correlations of IPS scores with several personality scales to clarify the interpersonal cognition tendencies of people with high IS and PS. A total of 439 Japanese undergraduates participated in the study, answering several questionnaires including the IPS. Results showed that people with high IS scores were inclined to be concerned with how they were seen by others, tended to take notice of others, and had a weaker sense of independent self, but a stronger sense of interdependent self. These characteristics are thought to be common in anxiety as well as melancholic depression. People with high PS scores were more likely to disregard others and showed higher tendencies to dogmatism and a diffuse/avoidant identity style, which may be unique in MTD.
Highlights
Since the 1990s, “modern-type” depression (MTD), which has different features from melancholic depression, has been reported and has become a mental health problem in Japan
IS and PS are measured by the Interpersonal Sensitivity/Privileged Self Scale (IPS), and the present study examined correlations of IPS scores with several personality scales to clarify the interpersonal cognition tendencies of people with high IS and PS
Regarding self-consciousness, we hypothesized that IS would be significantly correlated with scores on the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure (IPSM), Public Self-Consciousness Scale (PSC), and Self-Preoccupation Scale (SPS), which was supported by correlation analyses
Summary
MTD has attracted attention from Japanese people and become a mental health problem in Japan (e.g., Mori, 2012a, 2012b); psychological studies examining the onset of MTD are needed. Consider the aforementioned office workers who make mistakes at work and feel depressed If such workers are high in PS, they are strongly motivated to lessen their unpleasant experiences (i.e., the negative evaluations from others and the depressed mood) at the expense of maintaining harmony with their superiors and colleagues. They may contradict or blame the people who evaluated them negatively, and may be absent from the office in order to distract themselves from the office work which made them feel depressed. Sakamoto et al.’s theory may show promise in explaining the onset of MTD, the scale that measures IS and PS has only recently been developed (Muranaka, Yamakawa, & Sakamoto, 2017; Yamakawa, Muranaka, & Sakamoto, 2015), and empirical studies of the theory are anticipated
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