Pondering on how great I am: Does rumination play a role in grandiose ideas?

A recent psychological model proposed that rumination might be involved in grandiose delusions (GD) by amplifying positive mood triggered by the occurrence of a positive event or the recall of positive autobiographical memories. This is the first study whose aim is to explore the role of rumination in the development and maintenance of grandiose ideas in a nonclinical sample.

Following a grandiose ideas induction task, 109 nonclinical participants completed a rumination and distraction condition. Participants also completed a questionnaire designed to measure GD.

Rumination induction was associated with maintained levels of grandiose ideas and positive affect, while distraction led to reduced levels of grandiose ideas. Our findings showed that grandiose ideas after the rumination condition, but not after the distraction condition, was associated with trait grandiosity.

This study needs to be replicated in clinical samples.

Our findings suggest that ruminative thinking style might play a role in the maintenance of grandiose ideas. Consequently, interventions targeting rumination might be useful when targeting grandiose delusions in clinical samples.