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The Mental Simulation Of Motor Incapacity In Depression

Running head: MENTAL SIMULATION IN DEPRESSION

The Mental Simulation of Motor Incapacity in Depression
Lisa M. Lindeman and Lyn Y. Abramson
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Abstract
In depression, negative beliefs are coupled with profound physical weakness. Specifically, the belief that one is incapable of altering events in order to prevent expected negative outcomes or bring about positive outcomes leads to bodily symptoms characterized by low energy, slow motor movement and delays in the initiation of movement. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical model describing the causal mechanisms that link these cognitive and somatic elements of depression. We propose that 1) the inability to alter events is conceptualized metaphorically as motor incapacity, 2) as part of this conceptualization, the experience of motor incapacity is mentally simulated, and 3) this simulation leads to both subjective feelings of lethargy and peripheral physiological changes consistent with motor incapacity.

The Mental Simulation of Motor Incapacity in Depression
According to cognitive theories of depression, depression is prompted by negative cognitive evaluations of life events (Abramson et al., 1989, 2002; Beck, 1967, 1987; Clark, Beck, & Alford, 1999). These negative evaluations involve "the expectation that highly desired outcomes will not occur or that highly aversive outcomes will occur and that one cannot change this situation" (Abramson et al., 2002, p. 269) Specifically, depression arises when a negative life event of personal importance is evaluated as stable (likely to persist over time) and global (likely to affect many other areas of life), expected to lead to other negative consequences, and taken as evidence that one is unworthy or deficient. Thus, a proximal, sufficient cause of depression is hopelessness, where, in the face of negative events believed to be pervasive and enduring, people believe that they are powerless....