Glossary // Glossary term Theoretical

Repetitive thought

Prolonged or repeated thinking about oneself and one's concerns, a broad category that includes rumination, worry, reflection and mental rehearsal. Its consequences depend on the valence of its content, its context and its level of construal: abstract, evaluative thinking tends to be unconstructive, while concrete, process-focused thinking can support problem solving.

Where the site uses it

Rumination and repetitive thought: why going over it again can feel like processing
Repetitive thought about a problem can be constructive or can sustain distress. This note reviews experiments, experience sampling and trials on rumination, the difference between abstract and concrete thinking, and why brooding feels like work.
Interrupt rumination by changing how you think, not by thinking harder
Going over a problem again can feel like processing, yet abstract brooding worsens interpretation and problem solving. Concrete questions, distance, a bounded worry time and absorbing activity change the loop instead of feeding it.

Studies behind it

The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at.

Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.163

Level D Review

Supports the claim that the consequences of repetitive thought depend on valence, context and level of construal, with abstract processing tending to be unconstructive. Narrative review; the advice built on it has not been trialled as such.
Watkins, E., & Moulds, M. (2005). Distinct modes of ruminative self-focus: Impact of abstract versus concrete rumination on problem solving in depression. doi:10.1037/1528-3542.5.3.319

Level B Experiment

Supports the claim that concrete rather than abstract symptom-focused self-focus improved social problem solving in depressed patients, so the mode of rumination rather than its topic determined its effect on problem solving. Small sample, single session.