Specificity of reference patterns in depressive thinking: Agency and object roles in self-representation

This study investigated A. T. Beck's (1970) negative cognitive triad as a model of depressive thinking. A mixed clinical sample (N = 126) completed the Sentence Completion Test fbr Depression (SCD) acid self-report measures of depression and anxiety. Two reference patterns were tested: agency roles, people who are the source of thoughts, feelings, and actions (self and others); and object roles, points of reference location (self, other, world, future, and past). Cognitive effects were highly specific to depression. With self in agent role, significant correlations were observed with negative self, world, and future references but nor with other people or the past. With others in agent role, only negative self references were correlated with depression (e.g., "Some people would not...put me our if I was on fire"), suggesting an interpersonal extension to the negative cognitive triad.