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Rumination

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Brooding; Dwelling; Repetitive negative thinking

Introduction

Rumination is a type of extended thinking, the nature, causes, and consequences of which have been widely evaluated. This type of thinking has been linked to symptoms of depression, but rumination can also occur in other psychological presentations. Despite existing research and the importance of this construct, there is still no unifying consensus definition and different theorists have provided varying definitions and models of rumination and depression. This chapter reviews the varying definitions, theories, and types of rumination; rumination as a trans-diagnostic factor; and current treatments.

Definitions and Theories of Rumination

A range of definitions for rumination have been suggested (see Smith and Alloy 2009). In its most basic form, rumination can be defined as persistent, recyclic, depressive thinking that is a common response to negative moods (Rippere 1977). Broadly theories of rumination can be...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Adrian Wells & Lora Capobianco

Authors
  1. Adrian Wells
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  2. Lora Capobianco
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Correspondence to Adrian Wells .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Patrizia Velotti

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Wells, A., Capobianco, L. (2017). Rumination. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_854-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_854-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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