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Worry changes decisionf making: The effect of negative thoughts on cognitive processing
Author(s) -
Metzger Richard L.,
Miller Mark L.,
Cohen Mindy,
Sofka Mike,
Borkovec Thomas D.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(199001)46:1<78::aid-jclp2270460113>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - worry , psychology , categorization , cognition , anxiety , cognitive psychology , task (project management) , ambiguity , developmental psychology , stimulus (psychology) , social psychology , neuroscience , psychiatry , philosophy , linguistics , management , epistemology , economics
The present studies demonstrate that daily worry level is predictive of cognitive processing differences and that these differences are an effect of negative thoughts. In Study 1, worriers (those who reported 50% or greater daily worry) and non‐worriers performed a categorization task. The groups did not differ when the stimulus was a clear member or non‐member of the category. Worriers showed a significant disruption in processing as the ambiguity of the category membership increased. Study 2 demonstrated that the disruption arose as a result of increased levels of negative thoughts. Worriers and non‐worriers were assigned to two conditions, either O‐worry (“Relax and let your mind wander for 15 minutes”) or 15‐worry (“Worry as you typically would for 15 minutes”). Non‐worriers evidenced the same disruptive effects in the 15‐worry condition as worriers in that condition and worriers in Study 1. Similarly, worriers in the O‐worry condition showed a reduction in disruptive effects. The findings are taken as indicating that worry is accompanied by changes in cognitive processing and that these changes are similar for worriers and non‐worriers.