http://uweb.cas.usf.edu/mood/docs/cd.pdf
People with clinical depression and a control group were shown a "neutral"
film (scenery) and a "sad" film (a funeral.) The depressed group were
sadder after the neutral film, but their feelings after the sad film were
comparable to the controls. Not what the researchers expected.
Explanations rejected (or better, excluded by further tests) were:
- a "ceiling" effect (I can be only so sad.)
- I don't find somebody else's funeral upsetting.
- I am so sad about myself that I don't feel it.
And of what use was the study? Probably earned somebody a doctorate.
Someone is doing a Master's degree on what makes genealogists tick.
Doug.