Ruminative Thoughts: Advances in Social Cognition, Volume IX (Advances in Social Cognition Series) PDF
Preview Ruminative Thoughts: Advances in Social Cognition, Volume IX (Advances in Social Cognition Series)
RUMINATIVE THOUGHTS Advances in Social Cognition, Volume IX RUMINATIVE THOUGHTS Advances in Social Cognition, Volume IX Edited by ROBERTS. WYER, JR. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Lead Article by Leonard L. Martin Abraham Te sser ~ LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS 1996 Mahwah, New Jersey Copyright© 1996 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means without the prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 I I Cover design by Gail Silverman Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ruminative Thoughts Advances in Social Cognition, Volume IX ISSN: 0898-2007 ISBN: 0-8058-1815-4 (cloth) ISBN: 0-8058-1816-2 (paper) Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Preface vii 1 Some Ruminative Thoughts 1 Leonard L. Martin and Abraham Tesser 2 Goal Engagement and the Human Experience 49 Charles S. Carver 3 Restructuring and Realigning Mental Models: Rumina- 63 tions as Guides to Cognitive Home Repair Leslie F. Clark 4 Ruminations on the Rebound 73 Ralph Erber and Daniel M. Wegner 5 Some Thoughts About Thinking 81 Carol L. Gohm, Linda M. Isbell, and Robert S. Wyer, Jr. 6 Thinking About Goals, Glue, and the Meaning of Life 97 Laura A. King and James W. Pennebaker 7 Theories of Thought Flow: Points of Kinship and Fertile 107 Contrasts Eric Klinger 8 Attention Inhibition: Does It Underlie Ruminative 121 Thought? Patricia Linville v vi CONTENTS 9 Chewing the Cud and Other Ruminations 135 Susan Nolen-Hoeksema 10 Recurrent Thought: Implications for Attitudes 145 and Persuasion Richard E. Petty, W. Blair G. Jarvis, and Lisa M. Evans 11 When Do Unconscious Goals Cloud Our Minds? 165 James 5. Uleman 12 Rumination: When All Else Fails 177 Michaela Wanke and Jeannette Schmid 13 Clarifying Our Thoughts 189 Leonard L. Martin and Abraham Tesser Author Index 209 Subject Index 215 Preface This is the ninth volume of the Advances in Social Cognition series. From its inception, the purpose of the series has been to present and evaluate new theoretical advances in all areas of social cognition and information proc essing. An entire volume is devoted to each theory, allowing the theory to be evaluated from a variety of perspectives and permitting its implications for a wide range of issues to be examined. The series reflects two major characteristics of social cognition: the high level of activity in the field and the interstitial nature of the work. Each volume contains a target chapter that is timely in its application, novel in its approach, and precise in its explication. The target chapter is then followed by a set of companion articles that examine the theoretical and empirical issues that the target has raised. These latter chapters are written by authors with diverse theoretical orientations, representing different disciplines within psychology and, in some cases, entirely different disci plines. Target authors are then given the opportunity to respond to the comments and criticisms of their own work and to examine the ideas conveyed in the companion chapters in light of their own. The dialogue created by this format is both unusual and, we believe, extremely beneficial to the field. Until recently, most theory and research in social information processing focused on the cognitive activity that underlies responses to stimulus information presented in the immediate situation being investigated. In contrast, people's thoughts outside the laboratory often concern life events that either have occurred in the past or are likely to occur in the future. Thoughts about such past and future events can be spontaneous and, once elicited, can affect the ability to respond effectively to demands of the present situation with which one is confronted. The present volume focuses on this type of cognitive activity and exam ines both its determinants and its consequences. The lead article, by Martin and Tesser, develops a theoretical formulation of ruminative thinking. The vii viii PREFACE authors conceptualize rumination as a class of conscious thoughts that have a common instrumental theme and recur in the absence of immediate environmental demands. Their theoretical analysis has obvious implica tions for thought processes that mediate responses to everyday life events. Although their general conception of rumination is broad in scope, the authors give particular attention to the ways in which people's perceptions of the consequences of past and present events for long-range goal attain ment affect both controlled and uncontrolled thinking about these events. They also consider the implications of their theory for the ability to suppress unwanted thoughts, the interplay of emotion and cognition, and the cogni tive consequences of rumination for the performance of daily life activities. Thus, the formulation integrates a number of cognitive phenomena that are not usually considered within a single theoretical framework. The diverse implications of Martin and Tesser's work are also reflected in the companion chapters. These articles, many written by the field's foremost contributors to the literature on emotion and cognition, suggest important refinements and extensions of the conceptualization proposed in the target chapter. Moreover, they make important conceptual contribu tions in their own right, covering topics that include the role of mental models in cognitive functioning, the dynamics of thought suppression and attentional inhibition, stress and coping, personality correlates of rumina tive thought, and attitudes and persuasion. As a result, the volume as a whole is a valuable contribution to research and theory not only in social cognition, but in numerous other areas as well. In addition to the authors themselves, we want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Their continued support and encouragement of the Advances in Social Cognition series, and their commitment to the publication of a high quality set of volumes, is deeply gratifying. It is a genuine pleasure to work with them. -Robert 5. Wyer, Jr. 1 Chapter Some Ruminative Thoughts Leonard L. Martin Abraham Te sser University of Georgia Have you ever had recurrent thoughts about a former flame, experienced difficulty focusing on your work because you kept thinking about an upcoming vacation, or reminded yourself throughout the day to pick up a loaf of bread on your way home? If so, then you have experienced the type of thoughts we discuss in this chapter. We call these ruminative thoughts.1 We use this term (or the term rumination) throughout this chapter to refer to a class of conscious thoughts that revolve around a common instrumental theme and that recur in the absence of immediate environmental demands requiring the thoughts. A more detailed discussion of the definition of rumination is presented later. Rumination has several features that make it a particularly interesting and important topic of study. First, it is unintended and difficult to elimi nate. As a result, it can be long-lasting and can dominate a person's mental life. For example, people may experience some ruminative thoughts for years despite their best attempts to rid themselves of these thoughts (Horowitz, 1986; Rachman & Hodgson, 1980; Silver, Boon, & Stones, 1983). Second, rumination has been found to be associated with a number of cognitive, affective, and behavioral phenomena. For example, the occur rence of repetitive, unwanted thoughts appears to be a major contributor to unhappiness (Mcintosh & Martin, 1992) and depression (Beck, 1982; Ellis, 1962; Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1987). Rumination may also influence 1A lthough we use the term ruminative thoughts,it should be noted that we do not restrict the referent of this term to verbal content. Ruminative thoughts can involve emotions, images, and bodily sensations as well. 2 MARTIN AND TESSER people's abilities to solve problems (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; Taylor & Schneider, 1989), form impressions (Martin, 1986), and maintain attitudes (Lassiter, Pezza, & Apple, 1993; Tesser, 1978). Rumination is also interesting in that it is in some sense illogical. It often occurs in situations in which nothing can be done about the target of the thought or after the best chances for effective instrumental behaviors have passed. For example, it is only after we graduate from college that we begin to ruminate about how we should have studied much harder in school. In this chapter, we propose a formal definition of rumination and a theoretical model. The model addresses the factors that initiate and termi nate rumination as well as those that influence its content. The model also outlines some of the consequences of rumination for a variety of cognitive, affective, and behavioral phenomena. Some of these phenomena have been identified in the literature, whereas others have yet to be empirically addressed. Thus, we believe the model not only suggests a way in which to integrate what are currently separate yet related literatures on ruminative phenomena (e.g., meaning analysis, daydreaming, problem solving, remi niscence, anticipation) but also suggests directions for future research. After we discuss the model, we present evidence for some of the model's assump tions and then discuss some consequences of rumination. VARIETIES OF CONSCIOUS THOUGHT We begin with the classic Hollywood storyline: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets girl again. What might pass through the mind of the boy over the course of this on-again/ off-again relationship? Perhaps the boy starts with a daydream (Singer, 1966). He imagines being out with the girl, taking her to a nice restaurant, talking, having fun, perhaps even falling in love. The more he entertains these thoughts, the more positive his feelings become (polarization; Tesser, 1978). These feelings eventually motivate the boy to ask the girl out. As soon as he decides to do so, however, he begins to worry (Roemer & Borkovec, 1993). "What if she does not accept my offer? What if she does accept, but things do not go well?" Finally, the boy gets up enough courage to ask the girl out, and she accepts. Now the boy cannot stop thinking about the upcoming weekend. The anticipation (Martin, Tesser, & Mcintosh, 1993) is so great that it intrudes (Rachman & Hodgson, 1980) upon the boy's other thoughts, making it difficult for him to get anything done at work. When the weekend finally rolls around and the boy leaves work to get ready for the date, he remembers to phone ahead for a table at the restaurant (current concern; Klinger, 1977). The night turns out beautifully. The two fall in love, and the boy basks (Isen, Clark, & Schwartz, 1976) in the warm glow of this positive emotion. Later, however, the relationship takes a tum for
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