Concreteness of Idiographic Periods of Worry and Depressive Rumination

Stöber (Behav Res Ther 36:751–756, 1998) asserts that worry is characterized by reduced concreteness of thought that interferes with successful emotional processing
via reduction of imagery. Extant research has not examined concreteness of thought during a period of idiographic worry, nor
has it directly compared concreteness during worrisome thinking to concreteness during other types of repetitive negative
thinking such as depressive rumination. We sought to test Stöber’s theory as it relates to idiographic periods of worry, and
further examined its applicability to periods of depressive rumination. Consistent with Stöber’s theory, we found that worry
and depressive rumination were significantly and non-differentially more abstract than was baseline mentation. Contrary to
Stöber’s theory, concreteness of thought was not related to degree of reported imagery during either worry or depressive rumination.
Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.