Effectiveness of training in negative thought reduction and positive thought increment in reducing thought-produced...

Subjects (N = 86) completed scales designed to measure distress caused by thoughts, distress caused by day-to-day experiences, positive affect caused by thoughts, positive affect caused by day-to-day experiences, anxiety, stress, depressive cognitions, well-being, and psychological health. Subjects who reported high distress as a result of one or more items on the Thought-Related Distress subscale were asked to nominate three specific thoughts related to one of the distress-producing thought categories. These subjects were randomly placed in one of the five training groups. One group was trained to reduce negative thoughts (NTR), the second group was trained to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts (PTI), the third group was given training in both procedures, the fourth group was given a placebo treatment, and the fifth group was not given any treatment. NTR, PTI, and the combination of both were effective in reducing the distress caused by the specific thoughts. There was a significant reduction in the distress caused by specific thoughts in the NTR and combined-treatment groups. Training produced no significant changes in overall negative and positive affect caused by thoughts and day-to-day experiences or in anxiety, stress, depressive cognitions, well-being, and general health.