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Depressive rumination and experiential avoidance: A task based exploration
Author(s) -
Thomas Justin,
Raynor Monique,
Ribott David
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
personality and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.193
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1932-863X
pISSN - 1932-8621
DOI - 10.1002/pmh.1276
Subject(s) - rumination , psychology , task (project management) , experiential learning , experiential avoidance , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , anxiety , cognition , neuroscience , psychiatry , pedagogy , management , economics
Depressive rumination has been conceptualized as being closely connected with experiential avoidance. Evidence supporting this hypothesis derives primarily from studies using self‐report measures. The present study explores this idea using a task‐based assessment of avoidance. College students ( N = 100) rated their emotional responses to 60 computer‐presented images (positive, negative and neutral). Response times for the image‐rating task were surreptitiously recorded, along with Ruminative Response Scale and Beck Depression Inventory II scores. Rumination was correlated with faster response times for negative, but not positive or neutral images. These findings are interpreted as lending support to the experiential avoidance conceptualization of rumination; however, consideration is also given to a potentially synergistic interpretation implicating heightened threat monitoring. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.