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The Science of Rumination: Why Replaying the Past Makes Depression Worse, Not Better

4 the researchers behind it — "I just need to figure out what went wrong" sounds like the right instinct after a failure. For many people it is — but research on rumination draws a

Yale University

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

Known for:Response styles theory — showing that ruminating on low mood prolongs and deepens it

Key findings

  1. 1991

    People's characteristic responses to depressed mood shape its course: those who ruminate — passively and repetitively focusing on their symptoms and their possible causes and consequences — experience longer and more severe episodes of depressed mood than those who distract themselves or take action. ↗

  2. 2008

    Two decades of evidence, reviewed in 'Rethinking Rumination', show rumination predicts the onset of depression, enhances negative thinking, impairs problem solving and instrumental behavior, and erodes social support — even though ruminators believe the dwelling gives them insight. ↗

University of Michigan

Wendy Treynor

Known for:Psychometric separation of the two-factor structure of rumination — distinguishing brooding from reflective pondering within the Ruminative Responses Scale

Key findings

  1. 2003

    With Richard Gonzalez and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Treynor conducted a psychometric analysis of the Ruminative Responses Scale and identified two separable factors: brooding (passive self-comparison to an unreached standard) and reflective pondering (deliberate problem-oriented inward thinking). Only brooding consistently predicted higher depression scores over time. ↗

University of California, Riverside

Sonja Lyubomirsky

Known for:Experimental research on how rumination impairs problem-solving and cognitive flexibility, and how distraction can restore them

Key findings

  1. 2004

    With Chris Tkach, Lyubomirsky demonstrated experimentally that ruminators who were induced to distract themselves before problem-solving produced better and more creative solutions than ruminators who continued ruminating — providing causal evidence that it is the rumination itself, not just the underlying low mood, that impairs cognitive functioning. ↗

University of Exeter

Edward R. Watkins

Known for:Research on the distinction between abstract, evaluative rumination and concrete, process-focused thinking — and how this distinction explains the cognitive costs of brooding

Key findings

  1. 2008

    Watkins published a review showing that abstract, evaluative self-focus — characteristic of depressive brooding — is associated with impaired problem-solving and sustained negative affect, while concrete, process-focused thinking is associated with reduced negative affect and improved cognitive flexibility, regardless of the emotional valence of the content. ↗

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