The deficiency of internal control beliefs in individuals with depressive tendencies: Difficulty in shaping positive emotions

Abstract Internal control beliefs refer to the subjective belief that individuals can influence the course of events through their own efforts and actions. Depression is often associated with a diminished sense of control, with individuals frequently reporting a lack of control over their lives. This study aims to explore whether individuals with depressive tendencies demonstrate decreased internal control beliefs and to examine the role of success probability in this process. A total of 23 healthy control participants and 23 participants with depressive tendencies were included in the experiment. Participants were exposed to tasks designed to induce varying levels of perceived control, accompanied by feedback with low, medium, or high probabilities of success. They were then asked to evaluate their internal control beliefs, happiness, and pride. The findings revealed that individuals with depressive tendencies reported significantly lower ratings of internal control beliefs, accompanied by lower happiness and pride compared with healthy controls. Importantly, increasing the probability of success feedback led to enhancements in internal control beliefs, happiness, and pride for all participants. These results confirm that individuals with depressive tendencies show decreased internal control beliefs, highlighting the potential for targeted interventions to improve emotional well‐being in this population.