Objectives. We examine the proposal that social problem-solving in depressi
on may be improved with the retrieval of specific autobiographical memories
.
Design and methods. Social problem-solving was assessed with the Means-End
Problem-Solving task (MEPS; Platt & Spivack, 1975a). Depressed and nondepre
ssed participants were required either to retrieve a specific memory prior
to generating a MEPS solution (primed condition) or to report on the memori
es retrieved during MEPS performance after giving their MEPS solution (non-
primed condition). Participants also judged whether the memories retrieved
had been helpful or unhelpful for the process of solution generation.
Results. In both depressed and non-depressed individuals, priming increased
specific memory retrieval but did not improve MEPS performance. An interac
tion between depression and priming revealed that priming increased the ret
rieval of helpful memories in the depressed sample.
Conclusions. Specificity is not, in itself, a sufficient retrieval aim for
successful social problem-solving. However specific memory priming may be b
eneficial in depression because it facilitates the recognition of memories
which are helpful for problem-solving.