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Abstract

The present study evaluated selected aspects of recent behavioural, cognitive, and psychophysiological theories of depression. Of major concern was Lewinsohn's suggestion that a deficit in social-skill may be a critical determinant of depressive behaviour. An analysis of the concept of social skill suggests that it may involve two component processes: 1) the ability to emit situationally appropriate behaviours that others can identify and respond to discriminatively, and 2) the ability to identify and respond discriminatively to the situationally-appropriate behaviour of others. It follows from Lewinsohn's position that depressed subjects should exhibit deficits in either or both of these processes. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, three groups of subjects