Interpersonal expectations in depression

This project aims to investigate the relationship between interpersonal expectations, interpersonal motives, interpersonal problems and mental disorders such as depressive disorders. Using a novel approach to experience sampling - the prospective Experience Sampling Method (pESM) - expected interpersonal situations (including the expected emotional experience) are recorded and compared with a regular retrospective assessment of the actual interpersonal situation. Differences between the expected and actual experience (so-called expectancy violations) could contribute to the maintenance of psychological problems, especially if expectancy violations are not accompanied by learning.

In a pilot study, it was shown that participants with higher subclinical depression tended to have stronger, more stable and less accurate negative expectations and that negative expectations predicted subsequent negative affect. In addition, better-than-expected interactions preceded a reduction in negative expectations. Despite some limitations, the study shows that the pESM approach is suitable for investigating interpersonal expectations in vivo. In an approved DFG grant project, interpersonal expectations in everyday life in the context of depression will now be investigated in more detail.