The findings provide much needed evidence that children as young as 3 years of age can experience negative behaviors and emotions consistent with a depressive syndrome. Overall, the results supported the hypothesis: anhedonically (inability to enjoy activities and play) depressed preschoolers demonstrated less enthusiasm, more avoidance, more noncompliance, and more negative behaviors than their healthy counterparts. However, the disruptive, but not the depressed, preschoolers were significantly more noncompliant and avoidant in comparison to their healthy peers. It is noteworthy that the blind ratings of child behavior were significantly related to independent DMS-IV diagnosis based solely on parent report. Methodology involved the use of a videotaped structured observational parent-child interaction task, the Teaching Task, with 152 preschooler participants who were placed into 3 study groups: depressed, disruptive, and healthy. The analysis focused on measuring the child dimensions of enthusiasm, negativity, persistence, noncompliance, experience of the session, affection toward mother, and avoidance of mother. Clinical implications include the need to consider comorbidity in the clinical assessment of depression in young children. Figures, table, references