Rumination, Negative Cognition, Depressed Mood

Rumination, negative cognition and their interactive effects on depressed mood.

Ciesla, J. A., & Roberts, J. E. (2007). Rumination, negative cognition and their interactive effects on depressed mood. Emotion, 7, 555-565.

Abstract

Response styles theory posits that rumination represents a trait vulnerability to depression. Recent evidence has suggested that rumination predicts changes in depression more strongly among individuals with high levels of negative cognition. Three studies evaluated this model of interactive vulnerabilities. Study 1 provided empirical support for the distinction between rumination and negative cognitive content. The next 2 studies investigated the interactive model in the laboratory. Study 2 randomly assigned participants to either ruminate or distract following a sad mood induction. This study found that rumination was more strongly associated with dysphoria among individuals who report high levels of negative cognition. Similarly, Study 3 found that rumination and negative cognition interact to predict changes in dysphoria across a no-task delay period following a sad mood induction. These studies provide support for an interactive model in which rumination amplifies the deleterious effects of negative cognition.

A copy of the full article can be found here.

Chewing the cud and other ruminations

While rumination is often seen as goal-orientated and instrumental, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema discusses rumination as a maladaptive process, differentiating it from the problem-solving process proposed by others such as Martin and Tesser.

Key elements include:

Rumination versus problem-solving
Rumination and mood
Rumination and current theories

Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (1996). Some ruminative thoughts. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.) Advances in social cognition (Vol. IX) (pp. 3-47). USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Preview available here.