The relationship between rumination, dysphoria, and self-referent thinking: some preliminary findings

Smallwood, J., Obsonsawin, M., Baracaia, S. F., Reid, H., O'Connor, R. and Heim, D. (2003) The relationship between rumination, dysphoria, and self-referent thinking: some preliminary findings. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 22(4), pp. 317-342. (doi: 10.2190/2N80-AVM3-4A23-LEAJ)

Abstract

Rumination has recently been conceptualized as “behaviors and thoughts that focus one's attention on one's depressive symptoms and on the implication of these symptoms” [1, p. 569). In this article, we describe current theoretical formulations about how a ruminative processing style interacts with a dysphoric mood to yield high levels of self-relevant thinking. In the subsequent sections, we describe three experiments, the results of which broadly support a combination of two themes described in the literature: (i) that rumination, in the absence of dysphoria, seems to be associated with high levels of task focus, consistent with the attentional inflexibility hypothesis; and (ii) that we can distinguish between the effects of rumination and dysphoria in terms of their contributions to the content of a self-referential thinking. In particular, dysphoria seems to be associated with higher levels of pre-occupation with one's concerns while rumination, particularly in the presence of a dysphoric mood, seems to be associated with a pre-occupation with one's own performance: a finding consistent with the mood as input hypothesis for rumination. The theoretical implications for these findings are discussed, and we outline two important issues for future research to tackle.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: O'Connor, Professor Rory
• Authors: Smallwood, J., Obsonsawin, M., Baracaia, S. F., Reid, H., O'Connor, R., and Heim, D.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Journal Name: Imagination, Cognition and Personality
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0276-2366
• ISSN (Online): 1541-4477
• Published Online: 01 June 2003