Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Generalizability of Repetitive Thought: Examining Stability in Thought Content and Process

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Trait conceptualizations of repetitive thought assume that both the degree and the quality of thoughts are stable over time. In order to test this assumption, the generalizability of thought valence (positive vs. negative), purpose (searching vs. solving), and thought duration were tested using repetitive thought descriptions generated across time in a sample of first-year law students (N = 73) and a sample of dementia caregivers and matched controls (N = 57). Based on objective ratings of these descriptions, there was mixed evidence for stable individual differences with regard to valence, purpose, and duration, depending on the sample and the topic of the thoughts. Variance estimates ranged from 25 to 70% for valence, 7–24% for purpose, and 0–8% for thought duration. The results indicate that repetitive thought qualities change over time and that RT patterns may be more stable in older and less stressed samples.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnow, B. A., Spangler, D., Klein, D. N., & Burns, D. D. (2004). Rumination and distraction among chronic depressives in treatment: A structural equation analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 67–83. doi:10.1023/B:COTR.0000016931.37807.ab.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bagby, R. M., Rector, N. A., Bacchiochi, J. R., & McBride, C. (2004). The stability of the response styles questionnaire rumination scale in a sample of patients with major depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 28, 527–538. doi:10.1023/B:COTR.0000045562.17228.29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bower, K. S. (1973). Situationism in psychology: An analysis and a critique. Psychological Review, 80, 307–336. doi:10.1037/h0035592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, R. L. (2001). Generalizability theory. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105. doi:10.1037/h0046016.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, M. G., Bellavance, F., & Monsour, A. (1999). Prognosis of depression in elderly community and primary care populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1182–1189.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1990). Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Personality Disorders, 4, 362–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory and NEO five-factor inventory. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cranford, J. A., Shrout, P. E., Iida, M., Rafaeli, E., Yip, T., & Bolger, N. (2006). A procedure for evaluating sensitivity of within-person change: Can mood measures in diary studies detect change reliably? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 917–929. doi:10.1177/0146167206287721.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, S. (1979). The stability of behavior: On predicting most of the people much of the time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1097–1126. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.37.7.1097.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleeson, W. (2001). Toward a structure- and process-integrated view of personality: Traits as density distributions of states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 1011–1027. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.6.1011.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, S., Phillips, A. C., Evans, P., Der, G., Hunt, K., & Carroll, D. (2008). Caregiving is associated with low secretion rates of immunoglobulin A in saliva. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 22, 565–572. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2007.10.018.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Giltay, E. J., Kamphuis, M. H., Kalmijn, S., Zitman, F. G., & Kromhout, D. (2006). Dispositional optimism and the risk of cardiovascular death: The Zutphen elderly study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166, 431–436. doi:10.1001/.431.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, R., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Treynor, W. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 247–259. doi:10.1023/A:1023910315561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hankin, B. L. (2008). Stability of cognitive vulnerabilities to depression: A short-term prospective multiwave study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 324–333. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.117.2.324.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The big five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In O. P. John & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jylha, P., & Isometsa, E. (2006). The relationship of neuroticism and extraversion to symptoms of anxiety and depression in the general population. Depression and Anxiety, 23, 281–289. doi:10.1002/da.20167.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking “why” does not hurt: Distinguishing rumination from reflective processing of negative emotions. Psychological Science, 16, 709–715. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01600.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kubzansky, L. D., Kawachi, I., Spiro, A., Weiss, S. T., Vokonas, P. S., & Sparrow, D. (1997). Is worrying bad for your heart? A prospective study of worry and coronary heart disease in the normative aging study. Circulation, 95, 818–824.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liberman, N., Förster, J., & Friedman, R. S. (2004). Temporal construal effects on abstract and concrete thinking: Consequences for insight and creative cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 177–189. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.177.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mather, M., & Knight, M. (2005). Goal-directed memory: The role of cognitive control in older adults’ emotional memory. Psychology and Aging, 20, 554–570. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.20.4.554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Minoretti, P., Emanuele, E., Geroldi, D., & Martinelli, V. (2006). Response to the letter to the editor “Is neuroticism really associated with increased arrhythmia risk?”. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61, 849. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2006.10.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mischel, W. (1968). Personality and assessment. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mischel, W. (1969). Continuity and change in personality. The American Psychologist, 24, 1012–1018. doi:10.1037/h0028886.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Molina, S., & Borkovec, T. D. (1994). The Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Psychometric properties and associated characteristics. In G. C. L. Davey & F. Tallis (Eds.), Worrying: Perspectives on theory, assessment and treatment. Oxford, England: Jon Wiley & Sons Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennebaker, J. W., & Francis, M. E. (1999). Linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roach, A. R. (2006). Examining the dimensions and effects of repetitive thought. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Kentucky.

  • Roach, A. R., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2007). Neuroendocrine and immune effects of repetitive thought. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society, Arcachon, France.

  • Roberts, B. W., Robins, R., Caspi, A., & Treniewski, K. H. (2003). Personality trait development in adulthood. In J. Mortimer & M. Shanahan (Eds.), Handbook of the lifecourse (pp. 579–598). New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers/Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, B. W., Walton, K. E., & Viechtbauer, W. (2006). Patterns of mean-level change in personality traits across the life course: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 1–25. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roepke, S. K., Mausbach, B. T., Aschbacher, K., Ziegler, M. G., Dimsdale, J. E., Mills, P. J., et al. (2008). Personal mastery is associated with reduced sympathetic arousal in stressed Alzheimer caregivers. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16, 310–317. doi:10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181662a80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, S., Ott, C. H., Kelber, S. T., & Noonan, P. (2008). The experience of high levels of grief in caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Death Studies, 32, 495–523. doi:10.1080/07481180802138845.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. F. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219–247. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.219.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmilz, N., Kugler, J., & Rollnik, J. (2003). On the relation between neuroticism, self-esteem and depression: Results from the national co-morbidity survey. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44, 169–176. doi:10.1016/S0010-440X(03)00008-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schooler, J. W. (2002). Re-representing consciousness: Dissociations between experience and meta-consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 339–344. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(02)01949-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, R., O’Brien, A. T., Bookwala, J., et al. (1995). Psychiatric and physical morbidity effects of dementia caregiving: Prevalence, correlates, and causes. The Gerontologist, 35, 771–791.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Segerstrom, S. C., Stanton, A. L., Alden, L. E., & Shortridge, B. E. (2003). A multidimensional structure of repetitive thought: What’s on your mind, and how, and how much? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 909–921. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.909.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shavelson, R. J., & Webb, N. M. (1991). Generalizability theory: A primer. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. D., & Willet, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, C. R., Michael, S. T., & Cheavens, J. S. (1999). Hope as a psychotherapeutic foundation of common factors, placebos, and expectancies. In S. D. Miller, M. A. Hubble, & B. L. Duncan (Eds.), The heart and soul of change: What works in therapy. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton, A. L., Kirk, S. B., Cameron, C. L., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2000). Coping through emotional approach: Scale construction and validation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1150–1169. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.78.6.1150.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trapnell, P. D., & Campbell, J. D. (1999). Private self-consciousness and the five factor model of personality: Distinguishing rumination from reflection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 284–304. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.2.284.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tun, P. A., O’Kane, G., & Wingfield, A. (2002). Distraction by competing speech in young and older adult listeners. Psychology and Aging, 17, 453–467. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.17.3.453.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verkuil, B., Brosschot, J. F., & Thayer, J. F. (2007). Capturing worry in daily life: Are trait questionnaires sufficient? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1835–1844. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2007.02.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 163–206. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, A. (1994). A multi-dimensional measure of worry: Development and preliminary validation of the anxious thoughts inventory. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 6, 289–299. doi:10.1080/10615809408248803.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, T. D., Gilbert, D. T., & Centerbar, D. B. (2005). Making sense: The causes of emotional evanescence. In J. Carillo & I. Brocas (Eds.), Economics and psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 115 Kastle Hall, Lexington, KY, 40506-0044, USA

    Abbey R. Roach & Suzanne C. Segerstrom

  2. Berea College, Berea, KY, USA

    Charlotte E. Salt

Authors
  1. Abbey R. Roach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charlotte E. Salt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Suzanne C. Segerstrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abbey R. Roach.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Roach, A.R., Salt, C.E. & Segerstrom, S.C. Generalizability of Repetitive Thought: Examining Stability in Thought Content and Process. Cogn Ther Res 34, 144–158 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9232-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-009-9232-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation