Beevers, Christopher G.2017-01-272018-01-222017-01-272018-01-222007-12http://hdl.handle.net/2152/44532Two studies are presented which expand on previous research on the Emotion Context Insensitivity (ECI) hypothesis evident in Major Depressive Disorder. Specifically, these studies address limitations of this research by examining the emotional reactivity of depressed individuals when they are exposed to emotionally evocative stimuli requiring active participation in personally relevant tasks. Depressed and nondepressed college students were exposed to two stressful, aversive tasks in Study 1, and were given either highly positive or negative feedback on a performance-based test in Study 2. Results of the two studies were somewhat inconsistent. Study 1 demonstrated that depressed individuals experienced a potentiation of negative emotion (i.e. anger), while in Study 2, ECI was supported. Reasons for the discrepancy are discussed; however, taken together, they point to the importance of emotion dysregulation as a maintenance factor for the disorder.electronicengCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.DepressionEmotion Context Insensitivity (ECI)Emotional reactivityThesisRestricted