Call number: LD2668 .T4 1955 K56 / Master of Science

Rumination is known as compulsive and recurrent self-focused thoughts concerning symptoms, causes and consequences of personal distress. Previous research suggested that the habitual use of rumination in daily life, especially among depressed patients, was related to working memory impairment. Here we examined how induced rumination affects the functioning of working memory. In our experiment, participants were randomly assigned to go through either rumination or distraction induction procedures. Then, they were assessed by a computer task in which they were asked to sort three words in either forward or backward order. The three words were either of negative or neutral valence. Accuracy and response latency were recorded to estimate the functioning of their working memory. To examine the pure impact of state rumination on working memory, we recruited participants from healthy population in experiment 1. Recruiting non-depressed people helps isolate rumination from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) so that the effect of rumination state can be explored in the absence of the mood problems and cognitive deficits related to MDD. The relationship between trait rumination and working memory performance among non‐depressed people was also reviewed. It was found that participants’ accuracy in sorting negative words was lower than neutral words in forward sorting trials after rumination induction. This performance pattern was not observed in distraction group, implicating that rumination caused an increased difficulty for non‐depressed people to encode negative information when they were ruminating. In experiment 2, we aimed at investigating the working memory performance when depressed patients were ruminating. Depressed patients and matched healthy control were recruited to go through the same experimental procedures as in experiment 1. An elevated accuracy for negative words and an improved performance, in terms of higher accuracy and lower response latency, for forward sorting trials after rumination induction were observed. The finding suggested that state rumination caused depressed patients’ working memory to be more prepared to encode information, especially negative one. The results demonstrated that the impact of rumination state on working memory is consistent with the principle of cognitive congruency. Information that is congruent with the self‐related representation tends to have preferential access to the working memory. Implication of our findings on MDD would be discussed in the light of the observed influence of rumination on working memory functioning. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Background It has been found that both depressed patients and patients who have recovered from depression report more rumination and hold more meta-cognitive beliefs about the benefits of rumination than never-depressed controls. Furthermore, it is suggested that a ruminative cognitive style predicts the onset, length and severity of depressive episodes. Within an ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) perspective on depression, it is suggested that rumination in depression is a verbal reason-giving behaviour used to „solve‟ the problem of depressed mood. However, it is proposed that an individual‟s fusion with these verbal reasons (i.e. cognitive fusion) perpetuates rumination and impedes the adoption of more functional behaviours. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between depression, rumination, cognitive fusion and positive beliefs about rumination. Method A between-groups design was used comparing currently depressed adults (n = 26), recovered depressed adults (n = 21) and never depressed adults (n = 27) on a battery of self-report measures for depressive symptomatology, rumination, positive beliefs about rumination and cognitive fusion. Data were analysed using ANOVAs, post hoc comparisons, and path analysis: an extension of multiple regression. Results Significant differences were found in rumination and cognitive fusion between all three groups, with higher levels of rumination and cognitive fusion found in both the currently depressed and recovered depressed groups compared to never depressed controls. Significant differences in positive beliefs about rumination were found only between the currently depressed group and the never depressed group. Results also indicated that depression severity was best predicted by rumination and cognitive fusion rather than positive beliefs about rumination. Furthermore, the relationships between the variables of cognitive fusion and rumination (β = 0.76, p < .001), and cognitive fusion and depression (β = 0.66, p < .001), were stronger than the relationships between any of the other variables included in this study. Discussion Overall, the findings support the suggestion that cognitive fusion be considered in the conceptualisation of ruminative processes and depression. The results suggest that in individuals who have recovered from depression and are no longer clinically depressed, a difference in cognitive processes such as rumination and cognitive fusion remains. This may indicate that cognitive fusion is not secondary to depression and does appear to be implicated in the ruminative process.

Background: The aim of this thesis was to provide a systematic examination of the potential of a Verbal Thought Disruption Technique (VTDT) in reducing ruminative and intrusive thoughts (RATs). Thought Suppression (TS) is a commonly used tactic to deal with RATs. In contrast, very little is known about VTDT as a specific cognitive defusion technique in particular, or as a cognitive behavioural technique in general. Methodology: A mixed methods case series design was used for this project. 10 individuals were involved over a 12-week period. An ABACAB design was utilised in which each individual received no intervention (A), a VTDT intervention (B) and a TS intervention (C) over the course of the study. Change was monitored quantitatively utilising the Meta-Cognitive Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Additionally the measures were also completed at a one-month follow-up alongside the completion of Client Change Interview Protocol. The quantitative data was analysed by calculating the effect sizes of the reported change and the qualitative data analysed by thematic analysis. Results: Use of VTDT appeared to have a positive impact on RATs five MCQ-30 sub-measures (Cognitive Confidence, Need for Control, Cognitive Self-Consciousness, Positive and Negative Beliefs). VTDT use showed a positive impact as measured by the TCQ in four areas Distraction, Punishment Re-appraisal and Worry. The GHQ showed positive effects for VTDT use in the areas of Anxiety and Insomnia, and Social Dysfunction. TS had a negative impact on all measures. VTDT decreased numbers of RATs and severity of Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs) and TS increasing them, indicating a beneficial effect for VTDT and a detrimental effect for TS. The size of this effect was greater on SUDs than on RATs. Qualitative analysis at follow up identified factors that supported the use of VTDT and of the lack of utility of TS protocols to deal with RATs. Moderating factors for the first technique were found in the lack of willingness of some participants to use it in the future. A new working model of RATs was proposed. Conclusions: Conclusions reached are that VTDT may be a useful addition to an already wide range of cognitive defusion techniques already used in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and that it deserves further systematic research. TS, as previously found, appeared not to be a useful technique in dealing with RATs on most of the measures used.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how individuals with social anxiety perceive a social event after a texting conversation compared to a face-to-face conversation. This review is known as post-event processing. This study included 154 participants (89 males and 65 females). These participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Each participant was asked to imagine a social situation where they experienced a high level of anxiety. The results of the study showed evidence that the self-reported level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the self-reported level of state anxiety. Self-reported level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with self-reported level of PEP in an individual. Additionally, self-reported level of state anxiety was positively correlated with self-reported level of PEP. Individuals who reported higher levels of trait anxiety reported lower levels of PEP in the texting conversation compared to the face-to-face conversation.

<p>Undersökningen lyfter fram sambanden mellan individens olika sätt att orientera sin sinnesstämning och empati. Då empati har ett betydande inslag i mötet individer emellan har fokus inriktats på individer med en yrkesroll som ledare då de har skäl att hantera sin empati. Undersökningen baserades på en egen utformad enkät med 33 påståenden som ringade in relevanta begrepp. Denna besvarades av 105 deltagare från sju olika företag. Undersökningen visade ett signifikant samband mellan ett reflekterande sätt och empati. För att individen skall bli medveten om sin empati krävs det att denna bearbetas kognitivt. Resultatet visade att detta snarare sker genom ett reflekterande sätt än om individen grubblar och ältar sina känslor och tankar. Ändringar i begreppens innehåll var nödvändiga för att nå högre reliabilitet.</p>

Undersökningen lyfter fram sambanden mellan individens olika sätt att orientera sin sinnesstämning och empati. Då empati har ett betydande inslag i mötet individer emellan har fokus inriktats på individer med en yrkesroll som ledare då de har skäl att hantera sin empati. Undersökningen baserades på en egen utformad enkät med 33 påståenden som ringade in relevanta begrepp. Denna besvarades av 105 deltagare från sju olika företag. Undersökningen visade ett signifikant samband mellan ett reflekterande sätt och empati. För att individen skall bli medveten om sin empati krävs det att denna bearbetas kognitivt. Resultatet visade att detta snarare sker genom ett reflekterande sätt än om individen grubblar och ältar sina känslor och tankar. Ändringar i begreppens innehåll var nödvändiga för att nå högre reliabilitet.

Rumination has been shown to be an influential part of the depressive experience, impacting on various cognitive processes including memory and attention. However, there is a dearth of studies examining the relationship between rumination and emotion recognition, deficits or biases in which have been closely linked to a depressive mood state. In Study 1, participants (N = 89) received either a rumination or distraction induction prior to completing three variants of an emotion recognition task assessing decoding accuracy or biases. Results demonstrated that greater levels of dysphoria were associated with poorer facial emotion recognition accuracy, but only when participants were induced to ruminate (as opposed to being induced to distract). The aim of Study 2 (N = 172) was to examine a possible mechanism, namely cognitive load, by which rumination affects emotion recognition. Results from this study indicated that participants endorsing greater levels of dysphoria were less accurate on an emotion recognition task when they received either a rumination induction or a cognitive load task compared to their counterparts who received a distraction induction. Importantly, the performance of those in the cognitive load and rumination conditions did not differ from each other. In summary, these findings suggest that the confluence of dysphoria and rumination can influence individuals’ accuracy in identifying emotional content portrayed in facial expressions. Furthermore, rumination, by definition an effortful process, might negatively impact emotion recognition via the strain it places on cognitive resources.

No description available.

Rumination is a maladaptive coping style that has been found to be associated with several negative outcomes, including depression and anxiety. In particular, rumination has been found to be associated with deficits in inhibiting irrelevant information. This study examined the relationship of rumination to depression, anxiety, and stress and examined gender differences in these relationships. It also examined inhibitory deficits in rumination using a negative priming task with both short- and long-term components and evaluated the efficacy of a negative priming paradigm which utilised single presentations of stimuli that were not confounded by stimulus-response bindings. The results found that rumination was associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, in line with the classification of rumination as maladaptive. It was also discovered that the predictors of rumination differed between males and females, with rumination being predicted by stress and depression for females and by anxiety for males, indicating possible gender differences in the explanation of rumination. The negative priming paradigm used in this study failed to produce any significant negative priming, and indeed produced significant positive priming meaning that no conclusions could be drawn from the data about inhibitory deficits and rumination. The results did however highlight the importance of the probe distractor in negative priming as it appears that a lack of competition between the probe distractor and the probe target may be a possible reason for the failure to observe negative priming.