Koster et al

• participants were asked to press a button as fast as they could to indicate where a square appeared on the screen, before the square appeared, a positive, negative or neutral word flashed on the screen
• the independent variable in the study was if the participant has major depression or not
• the control variable was people who didnt have major depression
• the dependant variable was how fast they could press a but in response to a square appearing on a screen
• the study supports the idea that people with major depression have a negative cognitive bias
• participants with major depression took longer to react after seeing the negative word
• all participants took the same length of time to react after being presented with a positive or neutral word showing that people with major depression focus on negative words more than people who dont