The effect of distraction with recalling objects of rumination on mood, and the evaluation of ruminative thoughts

Abstract

The effect of a task that encouraged participants to divide their attention between a present distractive task and previous negative events on improving negative mood and evaluation was investigated. Participants (n=24) were randomly assigned to three task groups: (A) distraction, (B) distraction while recalling negative events, and (C) recalling negative events without distraction. Then, they performed each task for 10 minutes. Negative mood and the evaluation of previous negative events were assessed after induced rumination, task engagement, and resting for two minutes. Analyses of variance indicated no significant differences in negative mood between the groups. However, groups A and B, compared to group C showed a higher reduction in the evaluation of negative events. Moreover, only group B showed a significant reduction in negative evaluation between “after task” and “after resting.” These results suggest that when a person cannot stop ruminating about negative events, distraction with recalling negative events would be more effective for improving negative evaluations than merely continuing to ruminate.