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hubie writes:

New study undermines the theory that depressed people are just more realistic:

Are depressed people simply more realistic in judging how much they control their lives, while others view the world through rose-colored lenses, living under the illusion that they have more control than they do?

That's the general idea behind "depressive realism," a theory that has held sway in science and popular culture for more than four decades.

The problem is, it's just not true, new research finds.

[...] The concept of depressive realism stems from a 1979 study of college students examining whether they could predict how much control they had over whether a light turned green when they pushed a button. The original research concluded that the depressed students were better at identifying when they had no control over the lights, while those who weren't depressed tended to overestimate their level of control.

Moore and his colleagues set out to try to replicate those findings as part of a broader effort to restore trust in scientific research, much of which is woven into the fabric of the scientific community and wider culture. Researchers are revisiting bedrock studies to shore up the most basic of scientific principles: Can the research—and its conclusions—be replicated?

[...] The results, Moore says, undermined his belief in depressive realism.

[...] While depression may not improve judgment, the issue of how to accurately gauge our level of control in various situations has broader implications throughout life, Moore says.

"We live with a great deal of uncertainty about how much control we have—over our careers, our health, our body weight, our friendships, or our happiness," says Moore. "What actions can we take that really matter? If we want to make good choices in life, it's very helpful to know what we control and what we don't."

Journal Reference:
Amelia S. Dev, Don A. Moore, Sheri L. Johnson, et al. Sadder ≠ Wiser: Depressive Realism Is Not Robust to Replication [open], Collabra: Psychology, 2022. DOI: 10.1525/collabra.38529

Original Submission