It’s finals week, which means the coffee machine is working overtime and sweatpants are not only acceptable but standard attire. It’s easily the most grueling week of the semester. With the accumulation of class projects, exam preparation, and last minute assignments, the rigor of the last week of a college semester requires immense cognitive stamina to stay sane. That is, assuming you’re psychologically sane and surrounded by peers that keep you level-headed and focused. But if you take a walk through a college dorm during finals week (or really any week of the semester), it becomes apparent that the environment a student is in shapes the way they view everything. This mentality is what Gerald Haeffel studied in dorms on Notre Dame University’s campus in 2013 . The way someone thinks about life stressors is actually a great indicator as to the likelihood of future depression. One way to identify an individual’s outlook is to watch for rumination. Rumination is the continual focus on life stressors and consequences instead of directing attention to positive aspects and solutions. If someone in the social group ruminates, the likelihood of other group members ruminating is significantly higher.
In addition to the social influences of stress and negative mood, are there physiological indicators for predicting depression? Dr. Silton et. al took on the same analysis of mood in college students but from a dimensional neurophysiological perspective and found that the answer was yes. Their study looked at mood in terms of positive affect (PA), or the ability for someone to experience positive feelings. To do this, they recorded the alpha waves of students at rest via electroencephalography (EEG). Alpha has been shown to be inversely linked to depression so higher levels of resting-state alpha in the left prefrontal region is believed to indicate brain hypoactivity, an indicator of depression. Dr. Silton’s study showed that positive affect has a unique effect on the prefrontal cortex resting state alpha, indicating a decreased activity level in that region.
These two studies show the importance of a biopsychosocial approach to psychopathology and the future of mental health treatments. There is hope, though, for those suffering from this debilitating psychopathology! With continuous advances in neural networks, positive psychology is paving the way for a new era in psychosocial treatments. Additionally, Haeffel found that healthy thinking is also as contagious as rumination. So, when you’re studying for finals and Negative Nellie starts bringing down the room, try coughing up a little contagious positivity to counter it. Or get out before you catch the fever.
Photo: USA TODAY
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Further reading:
Silton, R.L., Polnaszek, K.L., Dickson, D.A., Miller, G.A., & Heller, W. (Under review). Low positive affect is associated with reduced prefrontal cortical activity in remitted depression. Journal of Psychophysiology.
Haeffel, G.J. & Hames, J.L. (2014). Cognitive vulnerability to depression can be contagious. Clinical Psychological Science, 2, 75-85.
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