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Negative affect and ruminative self-focus during everyday goal pursuit
Nicholas J Moberly1, Edward R Watkins
1University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Cognition & Emotion
|March 21, 2009
Summary
Negative affect and ruminative thinking arise from perceived inadequate progress toward important goals. Self-regulation models effectively explain these experiences in daily life, regardless of individual differences in depression or rumination.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Self-regulation theories posit that negative affect and rumination stem from unmet goals.
- Ruminative thinking is specifically hypothesized to be triggered by unattained goals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between goal pursuit, negative affect, and ruminative self-focus in daily life.
- To test whether the interaction between goal importance and success predicts negative affect and rumination.
Main Methods:
- An experience-sampling study was conducted over one week.
- Participants recorded negative affect, ruminative self-focus, and goal appraisals eight times daily.
- Data were analyzed to examine associations and interactions between variables.
Main Results:
- Negative affect and ruminative self-focus were linked to low goal success and high goal importance.
- The combination of low goal success and high goal importance significantly predicted higher negative affect.
- This interaction was also marginally significant for ruminative self-focus, specifically for problem-focused rumination.
Conclusions:
- Self-regulatory models of goal pursuit offer a valuable framework for understanding everyday affect and rumination.
- The findings highlight the interplay between goal appraisals and emotional/cognitive responses.
- These dynamics hold true across individuals with varying levels of depressive symptoms or trait rumination.
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