Avoiding positivity at a cost: Evidence of reward devaluation in the novel valence selection task.

Abstract

Reward devaluation theory (RDT) posits that some depressed individuals may not only be biased toward negative material but also actively avoid positive material (i.e., devaluing reward). Although there are intuitive, everyday life consequences for individuals who "devalue reward" or positivity, prior work has not established if (and how) reward devaluation manifests in tasks that encompass aspects of our daily lives, such as reading. The current research thus assessed if devaluation presents in a novel Valence Selection Task, akin to a reading assignment. In three studies, participants read incomplete reading prompts and were instructed to choose between a positively valenced, negatively valenced, or neutral sentence ending-all of which were viable sentence endings. Study 1 demonstrated that participants exhibiting depressive symptoms (assessed via fear of happiness) were less likely to select the positive endings, in line with RDT predictions. Study 2 replicated these findings, regardless of who the "subject" of the reading prompt was (self vs. other). Finally, results from Study 3 suggest that participants who displayed depressive symptoms were less likely to choose the positively valenced response, even when it was manipulated to be the objectively correct answer. These findings underscore the relevance of RDT in novel contexts and highlight potential clinical and educational applications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).