RESEARCH_FILE
Wendy Treynor
University of Michigan
Known for:Psychometric separation of the two-factor structure of rumination — distinguishing brooding from reflective pondering within the Ruminative Responses Scale
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“It was all my fault”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“The past has no edit mode. My next hour does.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
On a scrap of paper, write the repeating scene in one sentence. Then draw a line under it and list two things that are still entirely available to you today, without involving anyone else. Fold the paper and set it aside.
Key findings
- 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. Rumination Reconsidered: A Psychometric Analysis ↗