TY - THES ID - 138888404 TI - Empathic Accuracy and Depressive Symptoms: The Impact of Interpersonal Stress as a Moderator AU - Kalkan, Rana Begüm AU - Kuppens, Peter AU - Verhees, Martine AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische Wetenschappen. Opleiding Master of Psychology. Theory and Research (Leuven) PY - 2023 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Psychologie en Pedagogische Wetenschappen DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:138888404 AB - Interpersonal problems often accompany depressive symptoms. One process that can play a role in this relationship is interpersonal perception. According to cognitive and interpersonal theories of depression, individuals with depressive symptoms might possess cognitive vulnerabilities that lead them to interpret social information in a negative light, especially in close relationships. Moreover, they might also be more vigilant (i.e., better at detecting changes) toward negative social information. Previous research has mainly investigated inferring close others’ emotions, namely empathic accuracy, in individuals with depressive symptoms in the context of romantic relationships. However, the evidence is mixed and the operationalization of empathic accuracy does not allow testing specific hypotheses on negatively biased inference of emotions and vigilance simultaneously. In this master’s thesis, we investigated whether individuals with depressive symptoms overestimate their partner’s negative emotions and are better at detecting changes in partner’s negative emotions in daily life. Moreover, we examined a factor that might moderate these relationships: interpersonal stress. In a sample of 50 heterosexual couples, we used experience sampling methodology wherein participants reported their own and perception of their partner’s negative emotions multiple times per day for five consecutive days. We used dyadic multilevel modeling within the framework of Truth and Bias model (West & Kenny, 2011). We also conducted a replication study on the same participants after two weeks with the same study design. The results indicated that depressive symptoms were not linked with either overestimation or better tracking of changes in partner’s negative emotions, contrary to our hypotheses. Moreover, interpersonal stress did not moderate these links. However, it predicted higher perceived partner’s negative emotion over and above how their partner and themselves truly feel. The results were mostly replicated in the second part of the study. It should be noted that, as we had a convenience sample, the depressive symptoms were low and had low variability, which might have contributed to null findings. Further research could investigate these hypotheses in a clinical sample. ER -