Sociotropy, Autonomy, and Depressive Response to an Unconscious Challenge

Abstract

Important, but not unequivocal, support has been found for Sociotropy and Autonomy as vulnerability factors for depression. Using a novel approach we gave subliminal sociotropy-related and autonomy-related visuoverbal stimulation to nondepressed students (Study 1, N = 36), and patients treated for clinical depression (Study 2, N = 34) in completely balanced within-groups designs. Autonomy, as measured with the Personal Style Inventory, was unrelated to response. Sociotropy predicted negative outcome after a sociotropy-related abandonment stimulus in both Study 1 (r = − .34 to a decrease in positively valenced autobiographical memories) and Study 2 (r = .38 to an increase in selection of depression-related words on a word-selection task). This finding may interest developers of depression therapies, and support further attempts to study Sociotropy as a putative vulnerability factor for depression.

Psychosocial and Biological Indicators of Depression in the Caregiving Population

“…One possible model to explain the individual differences in psychological outcomes related to caregiving may be Beck’s (1987) diathesis–stress model. The model includes two major personality factors, sociotropy and autonomy (Iacoviello, Grant, Alloy, & Abramson, 2009), and their associated dysfunctional assumptions that, along with an environmental stressor, place individuals at risk for depression (Sohlberg, Axelsson, Czartoryski, Stahlberg, & Strombom, 2006). According to Beck, dysfunctional assumptions are ideas individuals have that sustain their personality factors, sociotropy and autonomy.…”