Anhedonic versus dysphoric cognitive profiles for depression: a latent profile analysis of attention, processing, and memory biases for positive versus dysphoric stimuli in depressed individuals

Cognitive theories of depression suggest cognitive biases for emotional information contribute to depression. However, most research examines cognitive biases in isolation and between groups, limiting insight into within-individual patterns. We applied latent profile analysis to multi-modal (e.g., eye-tracking, psychophysiological) measures of attention, processing, and memory for positive and dysphoric stimuli. Participants (N = 150) had minimal to severe depression. Elastic net regression identified clinical predictors of profile membership.Multiple profiles emerged per stimulus valence. Although depression severity predicted dysphoric bias profile membership (i.e., broadly strong versus weak biases), it did not for positive stimuli. Positive profile biases were more isolated (e.g., blunted attentional engagement). Findings suggest that cognitive processes should be distinguished by emotional valence, and that certain cognitive profiles (e.g., strong dysphoric) may be linked to greater symptom severity. Future research should examine profiles’ temporal stability, prospective relationships with treatment response, and replication in transdiagnostic samples.