Interpersonal reactions to a depressed, schizotypal, or normal individual: An attributional perspective

Abstract

Research on Coyne's interpersonal theory of depression has not adequately examined the attributional process between depressives and others that produces rejection of the depressive and negative mood induction in the other. In the present study, male and female subjects viewed one of six videotapes portraying a normal, depressed, or schizotypal female who recently had either been fired from her job for chronic lateness or permanently laid-off when her plant was sold. Depressed targets were rejected more than normals, but not more than schizotypals, and female subjects rejected all targets more than did male subjects. Schizotypal targets elicited higher reported anxiety in subjects, while depressed targets elicited more fatigue and the depressed-fired individual the most sadness. As a whole, these results provide qualified support for an attributional view of interpersonal reactions to depression and other conditions.