ABSTRACT
Three broad traditions can be seen in human research on depression and related conditions: Experimental research, research focusing on a specific stressor, and survey research. Each represents an attempt to deal with the prerequisite of any rigorous research on the topic: The need to define the stressor event in a manner which is untainted by the psychological consequences of it. That is, although from an intuitive viewpoint it seems reasonable to call an event stressful only when it is followed by an adverse effect (or, perhaps, a compensatory effort), to do so involves an element of circular reasoning which is unacceptable in a research context. The three viable approaches are discussed briefly here.
