Lingnan University Meta-Analysis Finds Depressive Mood Can Improve Judgment in Self-Referential Tasks

Does a depressive mood inevitably lead to more pessimistic thinking or over-analysing? A global meta-analysis, the largest of its kind examining the relationship between a depressive mood and reality judgment, co-conducted by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has found that the key lies in the nature of the judgment. Overall, individuals in a depressive mood generally make more accurate judgments when handling self-referent tasks or complex issues requiring deep analysis. However, their accuracy is impaired as regards understanding others and interpreting interpersonal relationships. Researchers noted that the findings clarify a decades-long academic debate in psychology regarding whether a depressive mood allows individuals to perceive reality more objectively, and will aid in designing more targeted intervention strategies. The paper was published in Clinical Psychology Review, a top international academic journal in clinical psychology.

A global meta-analysis co-conducted by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University finds that individuals in a depressive mood can make more accurate judgments in self-referent tasks requiring deep analysis.

The research team, comprising scholars from Lingnan University, the Polish Academy of Sciences in Poland, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, aggregated psychological and clinical studies published globally between 1971 and November 2025 from three leading international academic databases: Web of Science, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Synthesising empirical data from 32,914 participants, the study examined the relationship between a depressive mood and judgmental accuracy across three distinct groups: non-depressed healthy controls, individuals with a self-reported depressive mood via questionnaires, and clinically diagnosed depressed patients, using known objective outcomes as the baseline for comparison.

The team integrated multiple classic psychological behavioural experiments in the study. The first type of experiment was the "green light test", which assessed judgment of control. Participants sat in front of a computer and chose whether or not to press a button to see if a green lightbulb would light up. In reality, the light was entirely randomised by a computer programme. The results showed that the healthy control group tended to believe they had a significant ability to control the light, exhibiting an optimistic bias. Conversely, individuals in a depressive mood understood that they had absolutely no control over the outcome.

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The second type of experiment was the "deception detection task" to test complex analytical capabilities. Participants watched multiple video clips of real people speaking and had to identify who was telling the truth and who was lying. Spotting deception requires multi-step logical deconstruction, representing a complex issue that demands deep analysis. The results indicated that in these complex tasks, individuals in a depressive mood achieved a higher level of analytical accuracy compared to the healthy control group.

The third type of experiment evaluated "other-referent tasks" testing the participants' ability to observe and decode the behaviours, emotional states, or social interactions of others, such as evaluating the actual emotional states of individuals in audio or video clips. The results revealed that the judgmental accuracy of individuals in a depressive mood lagged significantly behind. The study suggested that depressed individuals are more prone to misinterpret others' behaviour and reactions.

The research team explained that the first and second types of experiments involved self-referent judgments, such as evaluating one's own performance, assessing one's ability to influence outcomes, or facing complex tasks requiring multi-step analysis. Individuals in a depressive mood made slightly more accurate judgments than healthy controls because the non-depressed control group commonly exhibited an "optimistic bias". This bias acts as a healthy psychological defence mechanism that maintains self-esteem through over-optimism, causing people to overestimate the extent to which they can control outcomes.

However, the third type of experiment involved other-referent tasks, such as understanding the behaviour of others and interpreting interpersonal relationships. In these scenarios, participants with severe but not moderate or mild depressive symptoms were more prone to judgmental bias and demonstrated lower accuracy. This shows that the relationship between a depressive mood and judgmental accuracy varies significantly depending on the task and context; hence, a blanket assumption that a "depressive mood allows people to see reality more objectively" is inaccurate, especially for those in severe emotional distress, or with sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, or fatigue – all symptoms of clinical depression.

Prof Hodar Lam, lead and corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University.

Prof Hodar Lam, lead and corresponding author of the study and Research Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychology and Associate Programme Director of the MSc in Work and Organisational Psychology Programme at Lingnan University, stated that this global big-data study spanning nearly half a century provides a vital reference for Hong Kong citizens who face a fast-paced and stressful lifestyle. He said "From an evolutionary perspective, all emotions, positive and negative, help humans to survive. A depressive mood could trigger more analytical, problem-solving rumination and learnings from the negative emotions. A transient depressive mood in daily life is fundamentally different from clinical depression. Experiencing mild, short-term depressive or negative emotions in daily life does not necessarily mean a decline in cognitive capabilities. In tasks involving self-assessment, deep analysis, or complex judgments, individuals in a depressive mood are actually less susceptible to the ‘optimistic bias’ common to the healthy public, allowing them to make a more objective appraisal of their own situation and capabilities."

Prof Lam went on to explain "Society should avoid stereotyping and categorising all depressive moods as a lack of rational judgment. Equally, we must not misunderstand a depressive mood as an inherent advantage, thereby ignoring its potential risks. Since research shows that a depressive mood impairs accuracy in understanding others and interpreting interpersonal relationships, the judgmental bias of participants with more severe symptoms will increase. Therefore, people must take emotional health seriously. This area could become a key focus for future psychological interventions to design more targeted treatment and support strategies."

Prof Lam emphasised that to help others experiencing persistent emotional distress, first show empathy and validation instead of asking them to “think positively or rationally”, because their perceptions could be right. People with deteriorating depressive symptoms, or who find that their work, interpersonal relationships, or daily lives are being affected, are encouraged to seek professional help as a brave and responsible act of self-care.

The study was co-first authored by Dr June Yeung of the Polish Academy of Sciences and an alumna of Lingnan University. To read the full research paper, please visit: Depression and accuracy of judgment: A meta-analysis – ScienceDirect

To understand how parenting styles influence adolescent mental health, the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University, collaborating with researchers from the School of Psychology of South China Normal University and the Department of Applied Psychology of Guangdong University of Education, conducted a one-year longitudinal study. The research findings show that when parents use psychological control to manage their children, such as forcing compliance through guilt induction or love withdrawal, a tactic widely regarded as emotional blackmail, this can impair an adolescent’s capacity to regulate their emotions. This then exacerbates depressive symptoms and heightens the risk of self-harm, particularly in girls. Researchers point out that preventing adolescent self-harm requires not only addressing individual emotional issues but also improving family dynamics. The study was published in the international academic journal “Child Psychiatry & Human Development”.

Prof Lin Li, Assistant Professor of the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University and her collaborators conducted a two-wave survey between 2020 and 2021. The study tracked 742 junior secondary school students aged 12 to 15 in two public schools in Foshan, with the two rounds of data collection spaced one year apart. Participating students reported on their perceptions of parents' child-rearing practices, alongside assessments of their own emotional regulation, depressive symptoms, and self-harm behaviours.

Based on the data, the research team identified four distinct parenting profiles:

• Supportive Profile: Nearly 44 per cent (43.6 per cent) of parents fell into this category, characterised by respecting their children’s opinions, granting autonomy, and infrequent use of psychological control.

• Moderate Mixed Parenting Profile: Accounting for 33.1 per cent, where parents exhibited an inconsistent parenting style that alternated between openness and demandingness, making it difficult for adolescents to anticipate their responses.

• Controlling Profile: Over 17 per cent (17.4 per cent) fell into this category, where parents demanded strict obedience, allowed minimal personal autonomy, and frequently deployed psychological control tactics like guilt induction or love withdrawal to exert pressure.

• High Mixed Parenting Profile: Nearly 6 per cent (5.9 per cent), where parents, under the guise of acting for the child's own good, offered superficial autonomy and support while simultaneously using psychological control tactics such as guilt induction and love withdrawal to demand compliance.

Based on the survey results, the research team divided parenting styles into four distinct categories: "Supportive Profile", "Moderate Mixed Parenting Profile", "Controlling Profile", and "High Mixed Parenting Profile".

The study indicates that "Supportive" families respect autonomy and value emotional communication, resulting in a lower risk of depression and self-harm in children. Conversely, the three profiles involving psychological control, most notably the "Controlling" group, showed a marked correlation with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) a year later. Crucially, the "High Mixed Parenting" group proves deeply problematic because the conflicting signals of superficial support paired with intense psychological control leave adolescents highly disoriented.

Research and analysis reveal that parental psychological control compromises an adolescent's capacity for emotional regulation, manifesting as impulsivity, hyper-reactivity, and difficulty coping with negative emotions. This prolonged emotional dysregulation creates a direct pathway to depressive symptoms and subsequent self-harm, a trend that is particularly pronounced among female respondents.

Prof Lin noted that the findings offer clear direction for both educators and parents, showing that a beneficial upbringing requires balancing boundaries with proper autonomy and emotional support. By reducing psychological control, parents can help children develop important emotional regulation skills. She observed, "Conducted in South China, this study is most relevant to Hong Kong, especially given our fiercely competitive environment. Many local parents have exceptionally high aspirations for their children, hoping they will excel and succeed. Some view control as a form of care and responsibility, or act out of a conviction that it is 'for their own good', inadvertently exerting psychological pressure as a result. Far from achieving the desired educational outcome, this may severely damage a child's mental health, sense of self-worth, and the parent-child relationship."

Prof Lin Li, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University.

To effectively prevent and reduce non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents, Prof Lin suggests that the education sector should identify high-risk youth early by looking at different parenting styles, and strengthening emotional management and mental health support.

Prof Lin Li from Lingnan University serves as the corresponding author of this study, Miss Du Qingnan, a postgraduate researcher from the School of Psychology of South China Normal University, is the first author, and Prof Wu Nini, Associate Professor from the Department of Applied Psychology of Guangdong University of Education, is the co-first author. The other co-authors include Prof Zheng Xiangrong, Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Psychology of Guangdong University of Education, and Ms Luo Dongli of Boqi School in Nanhai District.

Read the full study here: Parenting Behavior Profiles and Subsequent Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Chinese Adolescents: A Prospective Moderated Serial Mediation Model