Depression may distort views of the past 

While it is known that depression makes sufferers see the present and the future as sad, new research has shown it also casts a long shadow over people’s memories of the past.

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Depression:

• Depressed people have a peculiar view of the past.
• Rather than glorifying the ‘good old days’, they project their generally bleak outlook on to past events.
• Depression is not only associated with a negative view of the world, the self and the future.
• But we now know with a negative view of the past.
• The study establishes the first clear link between depression and hindsight bias.

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According to expert:

• Everyone is susceptible to hindsight bias, but it takes on a very specific form in depression.
• While non-depressed people tend to show hindsight bias for positive events.
• But not negative events, people with depression show the reverse pattern.
• The researchers tested over 100 university students, about half of whom suffered from mild to severe depression.
• They were ask to imagine themselves in a variety of everyday scenarios with positive or negative outcomes.
• For each scenario, the researchers then collected measures of hindsight bias.

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Results:

• The results showed that with increasing severity of depression.
• In addition,a specific hindsight bias pattern emerged exaggerated foreseeability and inevitability of negative event outcomes.
• As well as a tendency to misremember initial expectations in line with negative outcomes.

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