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Negative Thoughts

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Anger; Anxiety; Avoidance; Catastrophizing/Catastrophic thinking; Depression; Hostility; Loneliness; Negative affect; Negative cognitions; Neuroticism; Perceived stress; Pessimism; Rumination; Worry

Definition

Negative thoughts are cognitions about the self, others, or the world in general that are characterized by negative perceptions, expectations, and attributions and are associated with unpleasant emotions and adverse behavioral, physiological, and health outcomes.

Negative thoughts are cognitive components of negative psychosocial variables such as depressive symptoms, anxiety, loneliness, and hostility. Depressive cognitions, for instance, include thoughts of hopelessness, helplessness, and diminished self-worth. Anxiety is a negative affective state or trait that is accompanied and perpetuated by worry and rumination. Loneliness is a negative state or trait that is characterized by perceptions of social threat, negative expectations in social interactions, and lower...

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References and Further Reading

  • Hawkley, L. C., Thisted, R. A., Masi, C. M., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness predicts increased blood pressure: Five-year cross-lagged analyses in middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 25, 132–141.

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  • Kubzansky, L. D., Kawachi, I., Spiro, A., III, Weiss, S. T., Vokonas, P. S., & Sparrow, D. (1997). Is worrying bad for your heart? A prospective study of worry and coronary heart disease in the normative aging study. Circulation, 95, 818–824.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kubzansky, L. D., Sparrow, D., Vokonas, P., & Kawachi, I. (2001). Is the glass half empty or half full? A prospective study of optimism and coronary heart disease in the normative aging study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63, 910–916.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shipley, B. A., Weiss, A., Der, G., Taylor, M. D., & Deary, I. J. (2007). Neuroticism, extraversion, and mortality in the UK health and lifestyle survey: A 21-year prospective cohort study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69, 923–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stinson, D. A., Logel, C., Zanna, M. P., Holmes, J. G., Cameron, J. J., Wood, J. V., et al. (2008). The cost of lower self-esteem: Testing a self- and social-bonds model of health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 412–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Birmingham, UK

    Alan Kessedjian

Authors
  1. Alan Kessedjian
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Correspondence to Alan Kessedjian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Anna C. Whittaker

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Kessedjian, A. (2019). Negative Thoughts. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1563-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1563-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

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