Depressed individuals may filter or distort environmental information in direct relationship to their self perceptions. To investigate the degree of uncertainty about oneself and others, as measured by consistent/inconsistent responses, 72 college students (32 depressed and 40 nondepressed) rated selected adjectives from the Derry and Kuiper Depressed and Nondepressed Content Word List according to how well the words described themselves or a best friend. After the rating phase, subjects were administered the Buss Self-Consciousness Scale and were readministered the word list. An analysis of the results showed that depressed college students were more inconsistent in self-schema than their nondepressed counterparts. Nondepressed and mildly depressed students used different information processing strategies. Nondepressed students relied on congruence with the self-schema, while depressed students used a strategy based on familiarity or distinctiveness. (BL)