The Unique Cognitive Limitation in Subclinical Depression: The Impairment of Mental Model Construction

Abstract

(from the chapter) We began this chapter by advancing the simple proposition that individual differences in energetic arousal provide a marker for attentional resource availability, consistent with the Humphreys and Revelle (1984) performance theory. Recent research allows this hypothesis to be elaborated in several respects. First, energy is one facet of a broader subjective state factor of task engagement that binds elevated mood to performance motivations and concentration. Second, the relationship between subjective task engagement and information processing is bi-directional, and both paths are regulated by executive processing. Changes in engagement reflect self-regulative processes including appraisal and coping, consistent with existing cognitive theories of affect (e.g., Carver & Scheier, in press). Conversely, individual differences in engagement influence executive control over attention. Like energy, high engagement functions as a marker for resource availability, but its effects may also be mediated by task-focused coping and effort. Third, theoretical accounts of the interplay between engagement and attention require multi-leveled explanations in line with a cognitive science understanding of stress (Matthews, 2000, 2001). The account here acknowledges the importance of the neurological architecture for attention and approach motivation, but focused primarily on self-regulative processes. We have proposed that executive systems include a "task-relevant" mode that interacts with self-knowledge and lower-level processing networks in maintaining task-directed effort and commitment. Subjective engagement signals the intervention of executive processing in maintaining progress toward personally-important task goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)