In contrast to self-report measures, implicit measures do not require introspection and are less likely to be influenced by factors such as insight (e.g. Asendorpf, Banse, & Mucke, 2002) or social... Show moreIn contrast to self-report measures, implicit measures do not require introspection and are less likely to be influenced by factors such as insight (e.g. Asendorpf, Banse, & Mucke, 2002) or social desirability (e.g. Greenwald, Poehlman, Uhlmann, & Banaji, 2009; Kim, 2003). According to the dual vulnerability model (Young, Watel, Laymeyer, and Eastman, 1991), seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is the result of the tendency to negatively appraise physiological changes that occur in the wintertime, which leads to an increase in cognitive and mood symptoms. Although empirical support for the dual vulnerability model is growing (e.g. Rohan, Roecklein, Tierney, Johnson, Lippy, Lacy, & Barton, 2007; Young, Reardon, & Azam, 2008), implicit tests have yet to be used to evaluate the relationship between vegetative and cognitive symptoms. This study developed a method to assess the appraisal of vegetative changes as indicating illness using the Go/No Go Association Task (GNAT; Nosek & Banaji, 2001). We hypothesized that implicit attitudes would interact with vegetative symptoms to predict the severity of cognitive symptoms. Results showed that attitudes toward fatigue, but not hunger, moderated the relationship between vegetative and cognitive symptoms. Furthermore, based on response style theory (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991), we examined whether rumination would predict stronger illness-related attitudes in general, and would interact with vegetative symptoms to predict illness-related attitudes. Rumination predicted illness-related implicit attitudes towards fatigue, but not hunger, and acted as a moderator between vegetative symptoms and attitudes. This study helped to increase our understanding of how illness attributions exacerbate seasonal symptoms of depression. Show less