2 Relationship Between Depression (from heartbreak) and Reaction Time Jenna Lantrip October 2nd, 2022 Relationship Between Depression (from heartbreak) and Reaction Time There are many reasons that can cause depression and a cognitive developmental delay, but this review is going to be looking at depression that comes from a relational breakup (heartbreak) and how this effects their reaction time. When an individual undergoes emotional distress that was caused by heartbreak it can lead the individual to negative effects such as, having an increased risk of physical illness and stress-related diseases (Izzati & Takwin, 2018). Young-adults, according to Erikon’s theory are going thothe developmental stage of intimacy versus isolation (Izzati & Tawkin, 2018; Erikson 1968). This emphasizes that young adults are either developing intimate relationships with other individuals or they are being isolated from society. Naturally when an individual is actively pursuing an intimate relationship with another individual and this fails, heartbreak is expected. One should never underestimate the effects that a heartbreak can cause to an individual. Heartbreak can result into emotional distress and even in grief responses (Izzati & Takwin, 2018; Kaczmarek et al., 1990 in Lepore & Greenber, 2002). There can be different levels of heartbreak, an extreme level can cause emotional distress from a heartbreak that can link a person to horrid scenes, such as psychopathology or even death (Izzati & Takwin, 2018; Field, 2011). The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between depression from heartbreak and the effects of cognitive development, more specifically, reaction time in individuals who range from 14-24 years of age. The participants were assessed by using the Beck Depression Inventory Scale (Streiner, 2002) and The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Test (TCRTT). Results from this study could be beneficial to mental health professionals and individuals of these ages in understanding why they have a slower or faster reaction time than others. Background of the Study When an individual goes through a breakup from a relationship, this can cause many different negative experiences to happen. Whenever there is an increase of stress coming from an event, there is an increased risk for developing depression (Verhallen et al., 2019). Conducting research studies on stressful and emotional upsetting events can provide for great insight as to why there are individual differences when talking about stress-related coping and the link for stress and depression. Previous research has shown that the breakup from a romantic relationship can have such a strong emotional upsetting there can be multiple symptoms that are related to sadness, grief, and depression (Verhallen et al., 2019). There can even be a result of having an increased risk of developing a depressive episode (Verhallen et al., 2019). Women have reported for a h ...

1. 2
Relationship Between Depression (from heartbreak) and
Reaction Time
Jenna Lantrip
October 2nd, 2022
Relationship Between Depression (from heartbreak) and
Reaction Time
There are many reasons that can cause depression and a
cognitive developmental delay, but this review is going to be
looking at depression that comes from a relational breakup

2. (heartbreak) and how this effects their reaction time. When an
individual undergoes emotional distress that was caused by
heartbreak it can lead the individual to negative effects such as,
having an increased risk of physical illness and stress-related
diseases (Izzati & Takwin, 2018). Young-adults, according to
Erikon’s theory are going thothe developmental stage of
intimacy versus isolation (Izzati & Tawkin, 2018; Erikson
1968). This emphasizes that young adults are either developing
intimate relationships with other individuals or they are being
isolated from society. Naturally when an individual is actively
pursuing an intimate relationship with another individual and
this fails, heartbreak is expected. One should never
underestimate the effects that a heartbreak can cause to an
individual. Heartbreak can result into emotional distress and
even in grief responses (Izzati & Takwin, 2018; Kaczmarek et
al., 1990 in Lepore & Greenber, 2002). There can be different
levels of heartbreak, an extreme level can cause emotional
distress from a heartbreak that can link a person to horrid
scenes, such as psychopathology or even death (Izzati &
Takwin, 2018; Field, 2011).
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between
depression from heartbreak and the effects of cognitive
development, more specifically, reaction time in individuals
who range from 14-24 years of age. The participants were
assessed by using the Beck Depression Inventory Scale
(Streiner, 2002) and The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time
Test (TCRTT). Results from this study could be beneficial to
mental health professionals and individuals of these ages in
understanding why they have a slower or faster reaction time
than others.
Background of the Study
When an individual goes through a breakup from a
relationship, this can cause many different negative experiences
to happen. Whenever there is an increase of stress coming from
an event, there is an increased risk for developing depression

3. (Verhallen et al., 2019). Conducting research studies on
stressful and emotional upsetting events can provide for great
insight as to why there are individual differences when talking
about stress-related coping and the link for stress and
depression. Previous research has shown that the breakup from a
romantic relationship can have such a strong emotional
upsetting there can be multiple symptoms that are related to
sadness, grief, and depression (Verhallen et al., 2019). There
can even be a result of having an increased risk of developing a
depressive episode (Verhallen et al., 2019). Women have
reported for a higher distress score compared to men in the
study. In the study (Stoessel et al., 2011) the participants with a
relationships breakup in the following six months and
experiencing sadness ended over the breakup ended up having
the same symptoms of being clinically depression. For women
after the break up after four months, they reported high levels
of complicated grief (Verhallen et al., 2019). There was also a
different brain pattern that was an increased activity in
posterior regions such as the cerebellum and decreased in
activity in the anterior regions. This was found in these women
when they were ruminating about their breakup and the ex-
individual in comparison with thinking about an acquaintance.
The study by Verhallen et al. (2019) was conducted to examine
if the breakup from a romantic relationship could be used as an
experimental method for studying a depression-like state. The
results from this study indicated that the effects of experiencing
a relationship breakup can be captured with two descriptors:
“sudden loss” and “lack of positive affect”. The sudden loss and
lack of positive affect are both associated with severity of
depression and the symptoms. The researchers proposed that
this life-event is a viable experimental model that can help with
investigating symptoms of depression in individuals who have
not been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder.
Rationale/GAP
Although previous studies have found that the working

4. memory becomes altered after a romantic relationship break up,
no study to date has examined an individual’s reaction time
after a romantic relationship breakup. According to Verhallen et
al. (2021), acute stress and even chronic stress has the ability to
impair an individual’s effect on working memory in healthy
individuals. Chronic stress and dysregulation of stress response
can be a leading factor for mood disorders, including depression
(Bale, 2006). Resulting from Rose and Ebmeier (2006),
depressed participants showed a reduced performance on their
working memory task than the healthy control group did. The
results from the study by Verhallen et al. (2021) concluded that
there is less precuneus activation and identified a working
memory-related brain network within their heartbreak
population that relates to depressive symptom severity. The
results from this study suggest that there is a relationship
between depression from heartbreak and cognitive functioning.
According to Schoofs et al. (2008), there has been a slower
reaction time and lower accuracy rates due to social stress in
male subjects. There has not been research conduction on the
cognitive development in terms of reaction time during
depression that resulted from a heartbreak and that is what this
study will be focusing on.
Research Questions and HypothesesThis study’s primary
purpose is to explore if depression from heartbreak impacts an
individual’s reaction time. The primary research question and
hypothesis which guides this study are: Research Questions
RQ. Is there a relationship between depression (from
heartbreak) and reaction time in 14-24-year-
olds? HypothesesH0: There is not a statistically significant
relationship between depression (from heartbreak) and reaction
time in 14-24-year-old’s. Ha: There is a statistically significant
relationship between depression (from heartbreak) and reaction
time in 14-24-year old’s. Nature of the Study
This quantitative correlational study is aimed at
identifying the relationship between depression (from

5. heartbreak) and reaction time in 14-24-year old’s. The Beck
Depression Inventory Scale (Streiner, 2002) and The Taylor
Competitive Reaction Time Test (TCRTT) will be conducted by
using an online format to evaluate the relationship of depression
and heartbreak.
Significance of the Study
Having an understanding on how depression from a
heartbreak can affect an individual’s reaction time in
individuals 14-24 years of age is crucial for developing
preventions, interventions, and services to help decrease their
chances of cognitive impairment. This study can provide
information that can help individuals with their mental health,
provide coping skills for depression, and give a better
understanding as to why individuals may be struggling with
their reaction times. This can also give mental health
professionals the knowledge to prepare interventions and have
more of an understanding of cognitive development for
depressed individuals from having their heart broken. The
intention of this study is to add to the literature already
available about the effects of depression from heart break. This
study will allow individuals to participate in treatment’s since
they now are aware.
Methods
Participants
The participants that will be included in this study are high
school and college students who range from the ages of 14-24
years old in the United States. This can include any state, ethnic
background, and gender. This will create for a diverse group of
subjects to participate. The participants will be equally both
female and male. The participants will be required to speak and
read English at an understandable level. The total number of
participants that this study will aim to gain is N=200.
Keiser University Institutional Review Board will need to give

6. approve for this study before recruiting subjects to participate
in the study. This study will gain participants by posting the
questionnaires online for subjects to participate if they qualify
as a subject. The study will be posted on social media cites,
such as; survey monkey, Facebook, Twitter, Group chats, etc.
This will get the study more diversity among states and
different groups of individuals rather than going into a school
classroom to gain participants. Since the questionnaires are
online this will be possible to succeed at.
According to Bosnjak and Tuten (2003), prepaid incentives
in web surveys have shown that prize draws increase the
completion rate of online surveys and they reduce the
possibility of an incomplete survey participation. To increase
the chance of the subjects participating in the study, the
participants will be entered to into a prize draw.
Measures
The Beck Depression Scale
The Beck Depression Inventory Scale is a 21-item questionnaire
scale that was the first formal attempt at using self-ratings to
assess the severity of depression (LeBlanc et al., 2002). This
can be used in normal and psychiatric populations (Jackson-
Koku, 2016). The questionnaire was developed from clinical
observations of attitudes and symptoms that were occurring
frequently in depressed psychiatric patient and infrequently in
non-depressed psychiatric patients. The Beck Depression Scale
has 21 items that are on a 4-point scale from 0 (no symptoms) to
3 (severe symptoms). The minimum score is zero while the
maximums core is 62. The higher the scoring means the higher
severity of depression. When the score is 0-13 this indicates
that there is minimal depression, 14-19 (mild), 20-28
(moderate), and 29-63 (severe depression). The content validity
of this has improved with item replacements and rewording of
the DSM-IV to reflect the criteria needed for major depressive
disorders. Construct validity is high for medical symptoms that

7. are measured by the questionnaire. There has also been high
concurrent validity demonstrated between the questionnaire and
other measures of depression. For criterion validity the
instruments are positively correlated with the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale with having a high one week test-retest
reliability.
The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Test
The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Test (TCRTT) was
modified to use noise blasts instead of using electric shocks,
which is how it was first designed (Ferguson & Rueda, 2009).
The noise blasts are easily adaptable to a computer-driven
format and is more ethical. These noise blasts do not cause the
participant any physical harm to their ears/body. During this
test, participants are playing a reaction time game against an
“alleged” human opponent, who does not really exist. The noise
blasts would happen if the participant losses the game. The
variation of the noise bust can be administrated through a PC or
Mac computer, which would require no additional machinery.
The noise blast can be determined in regards to how intense and
the duration of them by the computer. Reaction time can be
measured by this instrument by how fast the participants react
to the noise burst. This could look like a flinch, blinking, or any
sort of movement/vocalization.
Procedure
The data collected for this study was all collected online from
the instruments that were used. The results from The Beck
Depression Test and The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time
Test (TCRTT) were all inserted into the SurveyMonkey website.
The subjects of this study would then be giving access to the
survey by sending out a link on different social media
platforms. This link would bring participants to the instructions
of the survey.

8. When the survey link opens, it will lead to information
about the study, what will happen during the study, and the
purpose of the study. It will not actually give the goal of the
study to the participants, just everything that they need to know
to sign consent forms. The participants will be given a section
of on the link to sign consent forms, these will include that their
information will be kept confidential and if the participants
choose to not participant then they do not have to. The purpose
of not telling the participants the entire reason and goal for the
study is so that they will not tell other participants. If other
participants are told then they can alter results if the
participants know what the researchers are looking for. When
participants agree to the study and meet criteria they then will
be brought to the survey questions. For the participants that did
not agree or did not meet criteria will then leave the study. At
this point the remaining participants will taking The Beck
Depression test and The Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Test
(TCRTT) would combined time should be about 30 minutes for
competition of the study for participants.
Results This study’s primary purpose is to explore if depression
from heartbreak impacts an individual’s reaction time. The
primary research question and hypothesis which guides this
study are: Research Questions
RQ. Is there a relationship between depression (from
heartbreak) and reaction time in 14-24-year-
olds? HypothesesH0: There is not a statistically significant
relationship between depression (from heartbreak) and reaction
time in 14-24-year-old’s. Ha: There is a statistically significant
relationship between depression (from heartbreak) and reaction
time in 14-24-year old’s. The hypothesis of this study is
predicting that there will be a reaction time between depression
from heartbreak and reaction time. It is predicted that the more
depression resulting from heartbreak then there will be a slower
reaction time for those individuals. Individuals who are not
experiencing depression or not as severe depression will have a

9. faster reaction time. Due to there being a range of depression
scores, continuous data will be collected. According to
Verhallen et al. (2021) a relational breakup can be a severely
stressful event for individuals that can lead to depressive
symptoms in healthy people. It was found that for the
heartbreak group, there is a negative association with depressive
symptom severity and brain networking presenting mostly the
precuneus, anterior cingulate gyrus and supplementary motor
cortex (Verhallen et al., 2021). This study suggest that the
breakup effect is accompanied by workload-dependent working
memory alterations. The findings from this study creates for an
expected effect from depression on an individual’s reaction
time.The Pearson’s Correlation statistical test will be used to
compare the relationships between depression from heartbreak
and reaction time. There will be a preliminary analysis ran to
make sure that the data met the required criteria. It is predicted
that there will be a significant, positive correlation between
depression from heartbreak and reaction time for individuals.
Figure 1 represents the hypothetical results of a Pearson’s
r correlation between depression and reaction
time.
Figure 1. Relationship between depression and
reaction time.
Discussion
Depression from romantic relationships that results from
heartbreak can create very stressful events. This chronic
depression can create for many life altering physical effects on
the body. This literature review focused on the effects of
reaction time for participants. This study took the time to make
sure that the measures and procedures were all conducted in an
ethical manner and was approved by the Keiser Institute Review
Board. The participants were made aware of the instructions,
age requirements, and what instruments were being used before
they participated in the study. The participants were made
aware that if they did not want to participate at any time during

10. the study, that they were free to leave without any harm done.
The instruments were all conducted in English for primary
English speakers. Due to the potential of The Beck Depression
Inventory Test bring up past trauma or depressive/sensitive
subjects, the participants were given a number to call for free
counseling if they needed it.
This study will certainly give informational results about
depression and reaction time, but there will also be limitations
of this study. The first limitation of this study is that there are
no prior mental health disorders being tested. There could be
other factors playing into the participants depression other than
heartbreak that they are not disclosing. This would affect the
study with not knowing if the depression results are purely from
a relationship break up. Future research needs to be conducted
on participants that are measured for other mental health
disorders to make sure that they do not have any.
Another limitation of this study is that this study is a
correlational design, having a causal relationship between
depression and reaction time will not be determined. Future
research should focus this study on an experimental design to
create for more definite results.
The third limitation of this study is that gender was not
looked at during. There was not a comparison in the different
genders when the results were determined. Having more
research on this topic and comparing genders will help with the
results of this study.
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Continuous Variables for Correlation
Y 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 80 70 60 50 40
30 20
Reaction Time
Depression