Rumination moderates the effects of daily events on negative mood: Results
from a diary study.
The aim of the present study was to address whether rumination in everyday
life moderates the influence of unpleasant daily events on negative affect, or mood.
Genet and Siemer define rumination as a, “detrimental response that involves
repetitive thoughts about one’s emotional state and its causes and potential
consequences” (2012). It was hypothesized that engagement in high levels of
rumination would augment the negative effects of unpleasant events on mood and
that engagement in low levels would attenuate these effects (Genet et al. , 2012).
The experimental method was used to compare the responses of 157 introductory
psychology students (mean age of 19). Participants received written and verbal
instructions for a daily diary and questionnaire that was to be completed over six
consecutive days. The questionnaire quantified unpleasant daily events using the
Daily Events Survey, daily rumination levels using the Ruminative Response Scale,
and negative mood at the end of each day using the affective circumplex model. The
hypothesis was supported by the results of this study. When participants reported
greater use of rumination, an association was found between unpleasant events that
had occurred during the day and negative mood. Conversely, on days when
participants reported low use of rumination, an association between higher levels of
unpleasant events and higher levels of negative mood was not present. (Genet et al.,
2012). Neither unpleasant events alone nor rumination alone were predictive of
negative mood. Genet et. al stated that these results support the notion that
dysfunctional methods of self regulation, like rumination, are major contributors to
affective outcomes.
Lymbomirsky, Sousa, and Dickenerhoof found that people who wrote or talked
about a negative life event experienced improved life satisfaction and health than those
who thought about it (2006). This study is important because it specifies the moderating
relationship that ruminating has on negative events and moods. It implies that there are
superior approaches to coping with such events, such as those explored by Lymbomirsky
et al.
Genet, J. J., & Siemer, M. (2012). Rumination moderates the effects of daily events on
negative mood: Results from a diary study. Emotion, 12(6), 1329-1339.
doi:10.1037/a0028070
Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events: implications for
physical health.
A substantial amount of research discusses the health benefits of writing about
traumatic life events. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether writing
about positive aspects of a traumatic event might be as beneficial as writing about
traumatic events while also encouraging positive emotions and insight about the event
(King & Miner, 2000). Reponses of 118 undergraduate psychology students between the
ages of 18 and 36 were compared. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions
within a 2 (writing about trauma vs. not writing about trauma) x2 (writing about
perceived benefits vs. not writing about perceived benefits). They were instructed to write
for 20 minutes for 3 consecutive days. Participants in the trauma-only condition were
required to write about the most traumatic event in their lives. Those in the perceivedbenefits-only condition thought of the most traumatic event in their lives before writing
only of its positive benefits. Participants in the trauma + benefits condition wrote about
the trauma for the first 10 minutes and then only the positive aspects of the trauma for the
last 10 minutes. The no trauma-no perceived benefits condition wrote about unrelated
control topics. The writing task was followed by measures of mood and consent to access
health records for the three to five months period after writing. A computerized wordcount system analyzed the essays for “emotional content and cognitive insight words”
(King et al., 2000). As predicted, the essays written by the perceived-benefits group
displayed more positive emotion and cognitive insight into the traumas discussed. The
prediction that participants of the perceived-benefits group would find their topic less
upsetting, less emotional, and less difficult than the traumatic topic to write about was
also supported. The prediction that individuals in the trauma-only condition and the
trauma+perceived benefits condition would experience physical health benefits of writing
was only partially supported. It was participants in the trauma-only and perceivedbenefits-only conditions that showed the most long-lasting benefits. As predicted, the
control group showed no benefits.
This experiment is relevant because it provides thorough backing to the
Lymbomirsky study. It is a detailed analysis of coping techniques that involve writing.
The results of this study indicate that writing positively about a negative life event could
be a way to attain the benefits of writing without having the psychological cost of
reliving the event (King et al., 2000).
King, L, A. & Miner, K, N. (2000) Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic
events: Implications for physical health. Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin. 26(2). 220-230. doi:10.1177/0146167200264008