Could the way someone sees the world help to determine if they are risk of developing depression? A University of Calgary researcher is quite literally studying how people see their world.
Researcher Kristen Newman suspects the way people who have had depression view the world might determine who is at risk for further episodes.
Newman says “people who have a history of depression would be more likely to attend to negative images and not attend as much to positive images”.
Study participants are shown a variety of images that represent either negative or positive emotions. Newman tracks their eye movements through a computer system and determines where their eye is drawn.
Rather than relying on the participants’ perception of which photograph attracts their attention, the eye tracker technology offers precise data on what people look at, and if there’s a pattern it may help determine who is at risk for a subsequent depressive episode.
The researcher is looking for more participants – women between 18 and 65 who have had depression in the past, but are not currently depressed. For further information email: cogstudies1@gmail.com
