Reactivity at different levels of cognitive analysis: products versus operations.

Abstract

C reactivity refers to the extent to which a (mild) negative or sad mood reactivates or triggers negative cognitive factors as observed in clinical depression.1 In this issue, Figueroa and colleagues2 report that cognitive reactivity, as measured by the Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity (LEIDS), is a long-term predictor of depressive relapse. The authors highlight that 1 important avenue for future research is to examine whether psychological interventions can improve (ie, decrease or reduce) cognitive reactivity scores. I would like to bring to the authors’ and readers’ attention a recent study by Van der Gucht and colleagues,3 which examined that very question while providing preliminary evidence that psychological treatment can indeed reduce cognitive reactivity. In a study that offered a mindfulnessbased intervention to low-income urban adults, cognitive reactivity was measured 4 times using the LEIDS: twice before the intervention (double baseline with 8-week waiting-list period in-between), immediately after the 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (postintervention), and 3 months after treatment completion (follow-up). Cognitive reactivity scores significantly improved from pretreatment to follow-up with a medium effect size (d = 0.69). Importantly, no change in cognitive reactivity scores was observed during the waiting-list interval. That mindfulness-based interventions help reduce cognitive reactivity levels makes sense, as their central aim is to tackle cognitive reactivity by helping people to recognize mood-dependent reactive tendencies and to switch to a nonreactive mode of mind.4 An earlier study by Kuyken and colleagues5 found that mindfulness-based intervention completers showed higher levels of cognitive reactivity than controls, but here, cognitive reactivity was solely assessed postintervention. Also, and most interestingly, the authors used a moodinduction procedure with assessment of pre–post change in dysfunctional cognitions and not the LEIDS to examine cognitive reactivity.5 Figueroa et al2 rightly argue in this issue that a mood-induction procedure might not be a very stable method to assess cognitive reactivity, which would then explain the opposite results as reported by Van der Gucht and