Depressed people have a more realistic view of themselves

Robert Feldman was on the local NPR station's flagship program, Think with Krys Boyd (great show -- and no, I don't donate), promoting his new book The Liar in Your Life: The Way to Truthful Relationships. He gave me this tidbit:

Boyd: I was really interested to read, Bob, that people who are clinically depressed have the most accurate self-perception of anybody.

Feldman: They do. They often have a very extraordinarily realistic view of themselves, so they see their faults and their strengths, which they actually tend to minimize a little bit, in a very clear-cut way.

Boyd: So does self-deception have a sort of preventive factor against depression?

Feldman: Oh, I don't think it would actually prevent it; I don't think it's a causal relationship. I do think that for most of us who aren't depressed, the goal is to see ourselves in a positive light as worthy individuals who are competent, who are attractive, who are above average. And so we spend a fair amount of cognitive effort thinking of ourselves... in a positive light. And so we're constantly filtering material around us to try and make it seem consistent with that view of ourselves.

Boyd: Yeah, our public radio listeners will appreciate this: you call it the Lake Wobegon effect. That "all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."

Feldman: Everybody's above average and that's what you find over and over -- that most of us think we're above average. We're better drivers than other people, and we're slightly smarter than other people, and we do things better than most other people. So there's a real bias in the terms of the way we view ourselves.

Interesting, because I never knew that people thought they were better than most others in terms of everything. Interesting also because I don't necessarily view myself as superior to others, except when it comes to knowledge. That's why I have this blog: to dissect the intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews while sipping a glass of Chianti at a dinner banquet. Actually, I don't even do that -- I don't like showing people how smart I may be. I always try to minimize my accomplishments and strengths, as the author stated, and avert attention and praise if it's given to me.

So does that mean I'm clinically depressed? I know I'm not, but I am pretty introverted. (I'm an INTJ, by the way, the owners of the 15 other MBTI types.) And since people love to remind us introverts that too much introversion can lead to depression, then I guess there's a link. I don't know.

This theory is also called depressive realism.

Clip starts at 33:23.