Abstract
Previous studies have found that rumination involves thoughts that usually occur during and influence affect after experiencing failure. However, little is known about how rumination directly affects approach behavior beyond that point. Therefore, we investigated the effects of rumination on approach behavior after failure. Forty-nine university students were allocated to one of either an abstract or concrete processing mode of rumination or a control condition. A failure experience was induced through a creative thinking task, and rumination was either manipulated or not depending on the group. The students then performed a task that was similar to the failure-inducing creative thinking task. Our analysis revealed that only the concrete processing mode of rumination improved participants’ negative affect and that the manipulation of rumination ultimately did not influence approach behavior after experiencing failure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Macmillan.
Beilock, S. L., & Gonso, S. (2008). Putting in the mind versus putting on the green: Expertise, performance time, and the linking of imagery and action. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61, 920–932. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210701625626.
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2016). Self-regulation of action and affect. In K. D. Vohs & R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 3–23). New York: Guilford Press.
Ciarocco, N. J., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2010). Some good news about rumination: Task-focused thinking after failure facilitates performance improvement. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 1057–1073. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2010.29.10.1057.
Connolly, S. L., & Alloy, L. B. (2017). Rumination interacts with life stress to predict depressive symptoms: An ecological momentary assessment study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 97, 86–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.07.006.
Eftekhari, E., Tran, A., & McGregor, I. (2017). Decentering increases approach motivation among distressed individuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 236–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.07.035.
Ehring, T., Szeimies, A. K., & Schaffrick, C. (2009). An experimental analogue study into the role of abstract thinking in trauma-related rumination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47, 285–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.12.011.
Hasegawa, A. (2013). Translation and initial validation of the Japanese version of the ruminative responses scale 1. Psychological Reports, 112, 716–726. https://doi.org/10.2466/02.08.PR0.112.3.716-726.
Jacobson, N., & Newman, M. (2014). Avoidance mediates the relationship between anxiety and depression over a decade later. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28, 437–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.03.007.
Kambara, K., Ogata, A., & Kira, Y. (2017). Effects of rumination processing modes on the tendency to avoid failure. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9655-z.
Kingston, R. E. F., Watkins, E. R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). Investigating functional properties of depressive rumination: Insight and avoidance. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 5, 244–258. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.038013.
Kojima, M., & Furukawa, T. (2003). Japanese version of the Beck depression inventory (2nd ed.). Tokyo: Nippon Hyoronsha.
Koppe, K., & Rothermund, K. (2017). Let it go: Depression facilitates disengagement from unattainable goals. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 54, 278–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.10.003.
Koster, E. H. W., De Lissnyder, E., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2011). Understanding depressive rumination from a cognitive science perspective: The impaired disengagement hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.005.
Krieger, T., & Holtforth, M. (2013). Self-compassion in depression: Associations with depressive symptoms, rumination, and avoidance in depressed outpatients. Behavior Therapy, 44, 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.04.004.
Kulkarni, A. A., & Yuan, H. (2017). Construal-level mindsets enhance behavioral persistence in response to incentive valence. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2020.
Martel, C. R., Addis, M. E., & Jacobson, N. S. (2001). Depression in context: Strategies for guided action. New York: Norton.
Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (1996). Some ruminative thoughts. In R. S. Wyer Jr. (Ed.), Ruminative thoughts (pp. 1–47). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Unfulfilled goals interfere with tasks that require executive functions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 300–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2010.10.011.
Moberly, N. J., & Watkins, E. R. (2006). Processing mode influences the relationship between trait rumination and emotional vulnerability. Behavior Therapy, 37, 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2006.02.003.
Ottenbreit, N. D., & Dobson, K. S. (2004). Avoidance and depression: The construction of the cognitive-behavioral avoidance scale. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 293–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00140-2.
Rimes, K. A., & Watkins, E. (2005). The effects of self-focused rumination on global negative self-judgements in depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 1673–1681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2004.12.002.
Russo, S. J., & Nestler, E. J. (2013). The brain reward circuitry in mood disorders. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14, 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3381.
Sato, T., & Yasuda, A. (2001). Development of the Japanese version of positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) scales. The Japanese Journal of Personality, 9, 138–139. https://doi.org/10.2132/jjpjspp.9.2_138.
Segerstrom, S. C., Stanton, A. L., Alde, L. E., & Shortridge, B. E. (2003). A multidimensional structure for repetitive thought: What’s on your mind, and how, and how much? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 909–921. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.909.
Shudo, Y., Yamamoto, T., & Sakai, M. (2016). Longitudinal predictions of depression symptoms using the activation and avoidance subscales of the Japanese behavioral activation scale-short form. Psychological Reports, 120, 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294116680794.
Stinson, C. H., Milbrath, C., Reidbord, S. P., & Bucci, W. (1994). Thematic segmentation of psychotherapy transcripts for convergent analysis. Psychotherapy, 31, 36–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.31.1.36.
Stöber, J., & Borkovec, T. D. (2002). Reduced concreteness of worry in generalized anxiety disorder: Findings from a therapy study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013845821848.
Takagaki, K., Okajima, I., Nakajima, S., Ishikawa, S., Kunisato, Y., Kanai, Y., & Sakano, Y. (2013). Preliminary assessment of the behavioral activation model in Japanese undergraduate students. Psychological Reports, 112, 47–59. https://doi.org/10.2466/02.15.21.PR0.112.1.47-59.
Takahashi, Y., Yamagata, S., Kijima, N., Shigemasu, K., Ono, Y., & Ando, J. (2007). Gray’s temperament model: Development of Japanese version of BIS/BAS scales and a behavior genetic investigation using the twin method. The Japanese Journal of Personality, 15, 276–289. https://doi.org/10.2132/personality.15.276.
Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023910315561.
Watkins, E. (2004). Appraisals and strategies associated with rumination and worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 679–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.10.002.
Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 163–206. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163.
Watkins, E. R. (2011). Dysregulation in level of goal and action identification across psychological disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 260–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.05.004.
Watkins, E., & Moulds, M. (2005). Distinct modes of ruminative self-focus: Impact of abstract versus concrete rumination on problem solving in depression. Emotion, 5, 319–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2004.11.008.
Watkins, E., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2014). A habit-goal framework of depressive rumination. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035540.
Watkins E. R., Moberly N. J., &, Moulds M. L. (2008). Processing mode causally influences emotional reactivity: Distinct effects of abstract versus concrete construal on emotional response. Emotion, 8, 364–378. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.8.3.364.
Zoccola, P. M., Rabideau, E. M., Figueroa, W. S., & Woody, A. (2014). Cardiovascular and affective consequences of ruminating on a performance stressor depend on mode of thought. Stress and Health, 30, 188–197. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2588.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported in part by grant from the Hiroshima University Education and Research Support Foundation. The authors thank all of their colleagues who assisted in this study. We are grateful to Dr. Natalie J Ciarocco for her advice in this study and providing us some materials.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix
Appendix
Interview questions in APMR | |
1 | Why did you obtain the result you did on this task? |
2 | What differences were there in how you performed compared with others? |
3 | What are the implications of this task? |
4 | Why did you think the way you did during the task? |
5 | What implications were you focused on during the task? |
6 | Why did you move the way you did during the task? |
7 | Why did you use the strategies you did? |
Interview questions in CPMR | |
1 | How was the task that you solved? |
2 | How and when did you come up with your ideas? |
3 | What ideas did you create? |
4 | What did you think of during the task? |
5 | How did you focus your attention during the task? |
6 | How were your positions or actions during the task? |
7 | What methods did you use to solve this task? |
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kambara, K., Kira, Y. & Ogata, A. An experimental study of the effect of rumination processing modes on approach behavior in a task involving previous failure. Curr Psychol 40, 2887–2895 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00225-w
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00225-w