Influence of emotional intensity and frequency of positive and negative events on depression

This study replicates and extends aspects of psychological behaviorism's an alysis of the role of positive and negative events in depression. As a firs t step, four pilot studies were conducted to develop a positive and negativ e events rating scale. This measure assesses the emotional intensity of pos itive and negative events (i.e., the strength of the positive or negative e motional response produced by the event) as well as the frequency of occurr ence of the positive and negative events. A sample of 1089 college students then completed the Beck Depression Inventory and this new life events meas ure. Consistent with psychological behaviorism's analysis that emotional in tensity involves a personality process and frequency an environmental proce ss, the results showed that the emotional intensity of positive and negativ e events as well as the frequency of positive and negative events had indep endent roles in the prediction of depression (i.e., each of the four variab les predicted depression after controlling for the other three). In additio n, the results supported the personality and environmental subtypes of depr ession as specified by the theory. Suggestions are made for how subsequent research can test more explicitly this theory of depression.