ORIGINALPAPERDopeopleruminatebecausetheyhaven'tdigestedtheirgoals?Ther - PDF document

ORIGINALPAPERDopeopleruminatebecausetheyhaven'tdigestedtheirgoals?Therelationsofruminationandre¯ectiontogoalinternalizationandambivalenceDortheKirkegaardThomsenJanTùnnesvangAnetteSchnieberMartinHammershùjOlesenPublishedonline:10April2011SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2011AbstractInthreestudiesitwasinvestigatedwhetherruminationwasrelatedtolessinternalizedself-regulationandgoalsandwhetherre¯ectionwasrelatedtomoreinternalizedself-regulationandgoals.Inallstudiesstu-dentscompletedquestionnairesmeasuringrumination,re¯ection,andinternalizationofself-regulationandgoals.InStudy1,ruminationwasrelatedtolessinternalizedself-regulation,whereasre¯ectionwasrelatedtomoreinter-nalizedself-regulation.InStudy2,ruminationwasrelatedtolessinternalizedself-regulationandgoalsaswellastomoreavoidance-andextrinsiccontentofgoals.Re¯ectionwasrelatedtomoreinternalizedself-regulationandgoalsaswellastolessavoidancecontentofgoals.InStudy3,goal-speci®cruminationwasrelatedtolessinternalizedgoalsandgoal-speci®cre¯ectionwasrelatedtomoreinternalizedgoals.Collectively,thestudiessuggestthatinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsiscriticalfordistinguishingbetweenunconstructiveandconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.KeywordsRuminationRe¯ectionInternalizationGoalsSelf-regulationIntroductionSelf-focusedrepetitivethoughtsseemtobeadouble-edgedsword,especiallywhenencounteringnegativeeventsandexperiencingnegativeemotions.Ontheonehand,self-focusedrepetitivethoughtsintheformofruminationhasbeenfoundtobeassociatedwitharangeofnegativeout-comes(forreviewsseeBrosschotetal. 2006 ;Thomsen 2006 Watkins 2008 ).Ontheotherhand,self-focusedrepetitivethoughtsseemtobeaprerequisiteforaccurateself-knowl-edge(TrapnellandCampbell 1999 )andhavebeenconnectedtoemotionalprocessing,stress-relatedgrowthandthe®nd-ingofmeaning(Janoff-Bulman 2006 ;Krossetal. 2005 TedechiandCalhoun 2004 ).Becauseself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsarelinkedtoself-regulationandgoalpursuit(MartinandTesser 1989 , 1996 ;Watkins 2008 ),whethersuchthoughtsareunconstructiveorconstructivemaydependoncharacteristicsofself-regulationandgoals.Hereweexaminewhetherinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsmayplayarole.Lessinternalizationofgoalsandself-regulationisassociatedwithlackofmentalintegrationthatmaycausegoalcon¯ictandambivalenceleadingtounconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.Moreinternalizationmay,ontheotherhand,beassociatedwithhighermentalintegrationandthuslessgoalcon¯ictandambivalencesupportingmoreconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.Inthreestudiesweinvestigatedwhetherinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsdistinguishbetweenuncon-structiveandconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsintermsofruminationandre¯ection.Wepredictedthatruminationwouldberelatedtolessinternalizedself-regu-lationandgoalsandthatre¯ectionwouldberelatedtomoreinternalizedself-regulationandgoals.Inthefollowingwe®rstde®neandoperationalizeunconstructiveandconstructiveformsofself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.Second,wediscusshowgoal-basedtheoriesaboutruminationmaybeintegratedwiththeoriesaboutinternalizationofself-regulationandhowthisinte-grationmaycontributetodistinguishingbetweenrumina-tionandre¯ection. D.K.Thomsen(J.TùnnesvangA.SchnieberM.H.OlesenDepartmentofPsychology,UniversityofAarhus,JensChr.SkousVej4,8000ArhusC,Denmarke-mail:dorthe.thomsen@psy.au.dkMotivEmot(2011)35:105±117DOI10.1007/s11031-011-9209-x Unconstructiveandconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsInthepresentcontext,repetitivethoughtsareusedasaneutralsuper-ordinatecategorysubsumingrumination,re¯ection,andavarietyofotherthoughtpatterns(Watkins 2008 ).WeuseTrapnellandCampbell's( 1999 )conceptu-alizationsandoperationalizationsofruminationandre¯ection.Thus,rumination(or``neuroticself-conscious-ness'')``maychie¯yinvolvecompulsiveattendingtoper-ceivedthreats,losses,andinjusticestotheself''(p.290),andre¯ection(or``epistemicself-consciousness'')``maychie¯yinvolveplayfulexploringofnovel,unique,oralternativeself-perceptions''(p.290).Althoughre¯ectionisde®nedinamorepositivetone,itmayalsobedirectedtowardsnegativeaffectandevents.Whileruminationisconceptuallyrelatedtoabroadrangeofnegativethinkingpatternsassociatedwithclinicaldisorders,suchasintrusivethoughtsandworry(e.g.,Borkovecetal. 1998 ;ClarkandPurdon 1995 ),re¯ectioncapturescognitiveprocessesthoughttobeinvolvedinaccurateself-perception(TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ).Wewillfocusonruminationasanunconstructiveformandre¯ectionasaconstructiveformofself-focusedrepeti-tivethoughts.Therearethreereasonsforthisfocus:(1)bothruminationandre¯ectionappeartobestabletendencies(Treynoretal. 2003 )enablingtheindividualdifferencesapproachtakeninStudies1and2inthepresentpaper,(2)ruminationandre¯ectionhavebeenfoundtoberelativelyindependentofeachother(Nolen-Hoeksemaetal. 2008 TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ),and(3)bothruminationandre¯ectioncaptureself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsthatareclearlyexpectedtobeeitherconstructiveorunconstructive(TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ;Watkins 2008 ).Hence,op-erationalizingunconstructiveandconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsasruminationandre¯ectionisamean-ingfulwaytoinvestigatepossiblerelationshipswithinter-nalizationofself-regulationandgoals.Repetitivethoughtsandinternalizationofgoalsandself-regulationInonein¯uentialtheory,self-focusedrepetitivethoughtshavebeenlinkedtoself-regulationthroughtheconceptofgoals(MartinandTesser 1996 ).Inthistheorygoalsareassumedtobehierarchicallyorganizedwithmoreabstractandlongtermgoalsatthetoplevel(e.g.,``obtainadegreeinpsychology'')andmoreconcretesubgoalsatthelowerlevels(e.g.,``passexams'').Lowerlevelsubgoalsarelinkedtohigherordergoalsandfunctionaspathwaystogoalshigherinthehierarchy(MartinandTesser 1996 ).Repetitivethoughtsaresuggestedtooccurwhentheindi-vidualdoesnotprogresstowardsher/hisgoalsasplanned(e.g.,whenfailingexams)(MartinandTesser 1996 ).Thistheorydoesnotdistinguishbetweenunconstructiveandconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughtsanddoesnotaddressindividualdifferencesinwhethersuchthoughtbecomeunconstructiveorconstructive.However,Watkins 2008 )hassuggestedthattheoriesadoptingagoalhierar-chyunderstandingofself-regulation(e.g.CarverandScheier 2000b ;MartinandTesser 1996 )maybeelaboratedtoaccountforindividualdifferencesinunconstructiveandconstructiverepetitivethoughtsbyfocusingoncharacter-isticsoftheunderlyinggoals.Here,wesuggestthatdegreeofinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsmaybeanimportantcharacteristicthatcouldhelpexplainwhetherrepetitivethoughtswillbeunconstructiveorconstructive.AccordingtoDeciandRyan( 2000 )``internalizationisanactive,naturalprocessinwhichindividualsattempttotransformsociallysanctionedmoresorrequestsintoper-sonallyendorsedvaluesandself-regulations''(p.235±236,originalitalics).Therearedifferentdegreesofinternali-zation(e.g.DeciandRyan 2000 ;Emmons 1999 ;KuhlandKaze 1994 ).Moreinternalizedgoalsarepursuedbecausetheindividualidenti®eswiththegoal,whichisintegratedwithothergoalsandbeliefs,valuesandself-schemata(DeciandRyan 2000 ;Emmons 1999 ).Whenanindividualhasnotfullyinternalizedthegoal,thegoalmaybepursuedtoachievepraiseoravoidguilt(DeciandRyan 2000 Emmons 1999 ).Becauselessinternalizedgoalshavenotbeen``mentallydigested''tothesamedegreeasmoreinternalizedgoals,theymaybelessintegratedwiththeindividual'sothergoals,beliefs,valuesandself-schemata(DeciandRyan 2000 ).Duetolowermentalintegration,lessinternalizedgoalsmaybeincon¯ictwithothergoalsandbeaccompaniedbyambivalence,whichhavebeenshowntobeassociatedwithrumination(EmmonsandKing 1988 ).Theseconsiderationsleadtothefollowingpredictions:(1)lessinternalizedgoalswillbeassociatedwithmoreruminationand(2)therela-tionshipbetweenruminationandlessinternalizedgoalswillbepartlyexplainedbyambivalenceandgoalcon¯ict.Moreinternalizedgoalswould,ontheotherhand,beassociatedwithlesscon¯ictandambivalence,resultinginlessrumination.Thehighinternalizationandintegrationofgoalswouldalsoseemtopromotere¯ectioninsteadofrumination,becausesuchgoalssupportexploratorycog-nitiveactivitiesbyallowingaccesstoawiderangeofinterrelatedmaterial.Theseconsiderationsleadtothefol-lowingpredictions:(1)moreinternalizedgoalswillbeassociatedwithmorere¯ectionand(2)therelationshipbetweenre¯ectionandmoreinternalizedgoalswillbepartlyexplainedbylesscon¯ictandambivalence.InStudy1wetestedthetwomainhypotheses:Thatruminationisrelatedtolessinternalizedself-regulationandthatre¯ectionisrelatedtomoreinternalized 106MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117 self-regulation.Inordertoexaminetheoverallcredibilityofourideasatthelevelofindividualdifferences,weusedgeneralmeasuresofinternalizedself-regulation,rumina-tionandre¯ection.InStudy2weattemptedtoreplicatethemainhypoth-esesusingthreedifferentassessmentsofinternalization:(1)ageneralmeasureofinternalizedself-regulation,(2)internalizationofimportantgoalsand(3)observer-ratedcontentofgoalsassociatedwithinternalization.Inaddi-tion,thesecondaryhypothesesweretested:Thatambiva-lenceandcon¯ictpartlyexplaintheassociationsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandinternalization.InStudy3weexaminedifinternalizationofspeci®cgoalsisassociatedwithruminatingorre¯ectingaboutthatspeci®cgoal.Inaddition,itwasalsoinvestigatedwhetherambivalenceexplainedtheassociationsbetweengoal-relatedrumination,goal-relatedre¯ectionandinternaliza-tionofgoals.Study1Inthisstudy,weexaminedtheideathatoverallindividualdifferencesininternalizationofself-regulationwouldberelatedtoruminationandre¯ection.Inordertomeasureindividualdifferencesininternalizationofself-regulation,weusedthegeneralcausalityorientationsscale,whichmeasuresthreetypesofcausalityorientations:Autonomous,ControlledandImpersonal(DeciandRyan 1985 ).Individ-ualswithahighlevelofautonomousorientationexperienceahighdegreeofself-determinationandchoiceandtheyorganizetheirlifeaccordingtopersonalgoalsandinterests(DeciandRyan 1985 ).Inaddition,``withahighlevelofautonomyorientation,peoplearemoreoftenintrinsicallymotivated''(p.112)andautonomyorientationhavealsobeenfoundtoberelatedtomoreintegratedfunctioning(e.g.HodginsandKnee 2002 ;Koestneretal. 1992 ;SheldonandKasser 1995 ).Basedonthis,autonomyorientationcanbeassumedtobeassociatedwithahighdegreeofinternalizedself-regulationandinthepresentstudyweexpectedauton-omytobeassociatedwithahigherdegreeofre¯ectionandalowerdegreeofrumination.Individualswithahighlevelofcontrolledorientationontheotherhand,organizetheirbehaviouraccordingtoexternalrewards,socialnormsandexpectations.Theseindividualsmayhavesomedegreeofinternalizationofgoals,butthegoalsarepursuedforextrinsicreasons,likerewardsorotherpeople'sexpecta-tions,andtheindividualexperiencesgoalpursuitaspres-suredbytheserewardsorexpectations.Finally,individualswithahighlevelofimpersonalorientationexperiencealackofcontrolovereventsintheirlifeandfeelthattheirlivesarecontrolledbyexternalforces.Thus,theimpersonalorien-tationisassociatedwiththeleastinternalizedregulation.Inthepresentstudy,weexpectedimpersonaltobeassociatedwithahigherdegreeofruminationandalowerdegreeofre¯ection.MethodParticipantsandrecruitmentTheparticipantswere176psychologystudents,143women,29menand4blanks(age25.37,SD5.5),whowererecruitedintwowaves.MaterialsRuminationandre¯ectionwasmeasuredusingtheRumi-nation-Re¯ectionQuestionnaire(RRQ;TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ).TheRRQconsistsoftwosubscales,eachwith12items,measuringruminationandre¯ectionrespectively.Itemsareratedon5-pointscaleswithhigherscoresindicatinghigherdegreesofruminationandre¯ec-tion.Examplesofitemsare:``Iloveexploringmy``inner''self''(re¯ection)and``Itendto``ruminate''ordwelloverthingsthathappentomeforareallylongtimeafterwards''(rumination).ThescalewastranslatedintoDanishandshowedgoodinternalreliability(Cronbach'salphas0.90and0.89fortheruminationandre¯ectionsubscalesrespectively).Inordertomeasureinternalizationofself-regulation,theGeneralCausalityOrientationScale(GCOS,DeciandRyan 1985 )wasused.TheGCOSconsistsofthreesub-scales:Autonomous,controlledandimpersonal.Thever-sioncontaining17vignettesdescribingwork-relatedandsocialsituationswasusedinthepresentstudy.Eachvignetteisratedonthree7-pointscalesexpressingdifferentresponsestothesituation(i.e.autonomous,controlledandimpersonal).Exampleofavignetteandtheassociateditemsare``Youhavebeenofferedanewpositioninacompanywhereyouhaveworkedforsometime.The®rstquestionthatislikelytocometomindis:''(1)``WhatifIcan'tliveuptothenewresponsibility?''(impersonal),(2)``WillImakemoreatthisposition?''(controlled)and(3)``Iwonderifthenewworkwillbeinteresting?''(autono-mous).Responsestothe17vignetteswerethentotalledforeachsubscale.TheGCOSwastranslatedintoDanishandshowedacceptableinternalreliability(Cronbach'salpha0.78,0.76and0.81fortheautonomous,controlledandimpersonalsubscalesrespectively).Thesubscaleshavebeencon®rmedbyfactor-analyses(Olesenetal. 2010 ).ResultsanddiscussionInordertotestwhetherruminationwouldbeassociatedwithlessinternalizedself-regulationandwhetherre¯ection MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117107 wouldbeassociatedwithmoreinternalizedself-regulation,aseriesofPearsoncorrelationswerecalculated.Generallytheresultscon®rmedpredictions(seeTable 1 )andareinaccordancewithapreviousstudy(Luyckxetal. 2007 ).Highlyruminatingindividualsshowedlessinternalizedself-regulation,asevidencedbyapositivecorrelationwithimpersonalself-regulation.Inamirrorimageoftheseresults,highlyre¯ectingindividualsshowedmoreinter-nalizedself-regulationasevidencedbyapositivecorrela-tionwithautonomousself-regulationandanegativecorrelationwithimpersonalself-regulation.Thecorrela-tionsbetweenruminationandautonomousandbetweenruminationandimpersonalweresigni®cantlydifferentfromthecorrelationsbetweenre¯ectionandthesamevariables(Hotelling'ss4.92and7.63,0.01,respec-tively).Inaddition,ruminationandre¯ectionwerealsoweaklypositivelyassociatedwitheachother((170)0.18,0.05),perhapsbecauseofasharedvarianceinself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.Generally,theresultssuggestthatinternalizationofself-regulationmaydistinguishbetweenruminationandre¯ection.Study2InStudy1wefoundsupportfortheideathatruminationisassociatedwithlessinternalizedself-regulationandthatre¯ectionisassociatedwithmoreinternalizedself-regula-tion.However,self-regulationwasassessedatagloballevelratherthaninrelationtoconcretegoals.InStudy2,wethereforeinvestigatedwhetherinternalizationofconcretegoalswoulddistinguishbetweenruminationandre¯ection.WeusedEmmon's( 1999 )constructofpersonalstrivingstoassesstheparticipants'goals.Personalstrivingshavebeenconceptualizedasrelativelyenduringandoverarchinggoals,capturingwhatpeopletypicallytrytoaccomplish(Emmons 1986 ),thuscapturingrelativelystableindividualtendenciesingoalpursuit.Weaskedparticipantstoratethedegreeofinternalizationof®veimportantpersonalstrivings.Wepredictedthatruminationwouldbeassociatedwithlessinternalizedgoalsandthatre¯ectionwouldbeassociatedwithmoreinternalizedgoals.Study2wasalsodesignedtoaddresstwosecondaryhypotheses:(1)Thattheassociationsbetweenruminationandlessinternalizedgoalswouldbepartlyexplainedbymoregoalambivalenceandcon¯ictand(2)thattheassoci-ationsbetweenre¯ectionandmoreinternalizedgoalswouldbepartlyexplainedbylessgoalambivalenceandcon¯ict.Lessinternalizedgoalsarelessintegratedwithothergoalsandknowledgeoftheself.Thus,lessinternalizedgoalswouldbeassociatedwithmoreambivalenceandmorecon¯ict,whichwouldthenleadtomorerumination.Theassociationbetweencon¯ict,ambivalenceandrumi-nation,hasbeencon®rmedinonestudy,althoughinter-nalizationwasnotincludedinthisstudy(EmmonsandKing 1988 ).Ontheotherhand,moreinternalizedgoalsareintegratedwithothergoalsandthusshouldbecharacter-izedbylesscon¯ictandambivalence,whichwouldfacil-itategoalpursuitandperhapspromotere¯ection.Rumination,re¯ectionandcontentofgoalsAthirdaimofStudy2wastoaddresstherelationshipsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandgoalcontentassociatedwithinternalization.Accordingtoself-determinationthe-ory,somegoalsareinherentlymorecongruentwiththeindividual'sbasicneeds(``intrinsic''goals,like``beacaringmother'').Ontheotherhandsomegoalsmaybelesscongruentwithbasicneeds(``extrinsic''goals,like``makeothersadmireme'')andthepursuitofsuchgoalsmay,ifprioritizedtoohighly,detractfromthesatisfactionofbasicneeds(DeciandRyan 2000 ;KasserandRyan 1993 ;Nie-miecetal. 2009 ;SheldonandKasser 1998 ;Sheldonetal. 2004 ;Schmucketal. 2000 ).Extrinsicgoalshavebeenfoundtobelessinternalizedthanintrinsicgoals(SheldonandKasser 1998 ;Sheldonetal. 2004 ).Similarly,ithasalsobeensuggestedthatavoidancegoals,e.g.tryingtoavoidanegativeoutcome,arelessinternalizedthanapproachgoals,e.g.tryingtoattainapositiveoutcome(CarverandScheier 2000a ),perhapsbecauseavoidancegoalsaretypicallydevelopedunderconditionsofcontingentpunishment(DeciandRyan 2000 ).Theapproach-avoidancedimensionisnotequivalenttotheintrinsic-extrinsicdimensionorthedegreeofinternalizationdimension.However,studieshavefoundsupportforthenotionthatavoidancegoalsarelessinternalized(ElliotandSheldon 1998 ;EmmonsandKaiser 1996 ).Thus,lessinternalizedgoalsmaybecharacterizedbyextrinsicandavoidancecontent(e.g.DeciandRyan 2000 KasserandRyan 1993 )andthushavingsuchgoalcontentsmayalsobeassociatedwithincreasedrumination.Simi-larly,intrinsicandapproachgoalsaremoreinternalizedandwouldthuspromotere¯ection.Investigationsofextrinsic-intrinsicgoalcontentshavepreviouslyusedself-reportingofgoalcontent(KasserandRyan 1993 ; Table1Study1correlationsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandinternalizationofself-regulationRuminationRe¯ectionAutonomous0.120.33*Controlled0.010.06Impersonal0.45*0.19*0.05 108MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117 Schmucketal. 2000 ;SheldonandKasser 1995 , 1998 Sheldonetal. 2004 ).However,inthepresentstudyweattemptedtomeasurecontentinamoreobjectiveway,byhavingtwoindependentcodersratetheextrinsicandavoidancecontentofimportantgoalsthatweregeneratedbyparticipants.BasedontheaboveandonresultsfromStudy1wepredictedthatruminationwouldbeassociatedwithlessinternalizedgoalsandthatthisassociationwouldbepartlyexplainedbymoreambivalenceandcon¯ict.Inaddition,wepredictedthatre¯ectionwouldbeassociatedwithmoreinternalizedgoalsandthatthisassociationwouldbepartlyexplainedbylessambivalenceandcon¯ict.Toextendourmeasuresbeyondself-reportdataweincludedobserverratingsofgoalcontentrelatedtointernalization,namelyextrinsicandavoidancecontent.Becauseextrinsicandavoidancegoalsarelessinternalizedthepredictionsforthesegoalcontentsfollowthepredictionforlessinternal-izedgoals,i.e.thatthesegoalcontentswouldberelatedtomorerumination.MethodParticipantsandrecruitmentTheparticipantswere677freshmenfromanumberofdifferentstudyareasenrollingattheUniversityofAarhus,summer2007.Therewere472women,204menand1wheregenderinformationwasnotavailable(age21.92,SD4.86).TheywererecruitedthroughtheRegistryattheUniversityofAarhus,whichsendsemailstoallfreshmenasapartoftheenrolmentprocedure.Partic-ipantswereprovidedwithlinkstoelectronicversionsofthequestionnaires.Originallytheinvitationtothestudywassendto3738students.Ofthese,677studentsrespon-dedtoallthequestionnairesrelevanttothepresentstudy,resultinginaresponserateof18%.Respondersdidnotdifferfromnon-respondersonage((3725)0.68,0.50),butdifferedfromnon-respondersongender,wherewomenwereoverrepresentedamongresponders(1)53.71,0.05).MaterialsandprocedureAsinStudy1,ruminationandre¯ectionwasmeasuredusingtheRumination-Re¯ectionQuestionnaire(RRQ;TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ).AgaintheRRQshowedgoodinternalreliability(Cronbach'salpha0.90and0.93fortheruminationandre¯ectionsubscalesrespec-tively).Internalizedself-regulationwasmeasuredusingtheGeneralCausalityOrientationScale(GCOS,DeciandRyan 1985 )andthesubscalesalsoshowedacceptableinternalreliabilityinthisstudy(Cronbach'salpha0.78,0.70and0.82fortheautonomous,controlledandimper-sonalsubscalesrespectively).AshortenedversionofThePersonalStrivingAssess-mentPacket(PSAP,Emmons 1999 )wasusedtomeasurecontentandcharacteristicsofgoals.TheinstructionswerebasedonEmmons( 1999 ).Participantsreceivedageneraldescriptionofpersonalstrivingsandwerethenaskedtowritedowntheirtenmosttypicalpersonalstrivings.Theythenselectedthe®vemostimportantpersonalstrivings.Inordertomeasurethedegreeofinternalization,thepersonalstrivingswereratedonfour7-pointscalesmea-suringinternalization(basedonSheldonandKasser 1995 ).The®rstitemconcernedexternalmotivationandfocusedonrewards,praiseorcriticism;theseconditemconcernedintrojectedmotivationandfocusedonshame,guilt,anxietyand`oughts';thethirditemconcernedidenti®edmotiva-tionandfocusedonimportanceandrightnessofthestrivingandthefourthitemconcernedintrinsicmotivationandfocusedoninterest,enjoymentandfun.Eachmotiva-tionwastotalledacrossthe®vestrivingstoachieveamoregeneralmeasureofinternalizationofgoalsandthesetotalswereusedinthefollowinganalysis.Theinternalreliabilityforthefourscaleswasacceptableconsideringthefewitemsforeachsubscale(0.63,0.71,0.68and0.67fortheexternal,introjected,identi®edandintrinsicsubscalesrespectively).Inordertomeasuregoalambivalence,participantswereaskedtoratetheirpersonalstrivingsontherelevantStrivingAssessmentScale(SAS)(basedonEmmons 1999 ),namely``Ambivalence''answeredona5-pointscalewith1notatalland5toaveryhighdegree.Thewordingofthequestionisasfollows:``Sometimes,evenwhenwearesuccessfulinreachingagoal,weareunhappy.Evensuccesssometimeshasitscost.Forexample,ifyouare``Tryingtobecomemoreintimatewithsomeone,''andyousucceed,youmightalsofeelconcernaboutbeingmoretieddown,havingmoreresponsibility,andbeingunabletodateothers,etc.,despitealsobeingpleasedwiththeout-come.Chooseanumberfromthescalebelowthatindicateshowambivalentorunhappyyouwouldbeaboutsucceed-ingatthestriving''.Theresponsesweresummedacrossthe®vestrivingstoyieldatotalambivalencescore.Althoughtheinternalreliabilitywasbelowstandardvaluesforacceptableinternalreliability(Cronbach'salpha0.46)thistotalwasusedinthefollowinganalysis.Lastly,theparticipantscompletedcon¯ictratingsfortheir®vemostimportantstrivingsusingtheStrivingInstrumentalityMatrix(SIM).TheinstructionswerebasedonEmmons( 1999 ).Participantswereaskedtoconsiderhoweachstrivingmayin¯uenceeachofher/hisotherfourstrivingsandaskedtoratethison205-pointscales,anchoredwith1``itwouldhelpstrivingxtoahighdegree''and5``itwouldopposestrivingxtoahigh MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117109 degree''.Atotalcon¯ictscorewasobtainedbysummingacrossthefourquestionsforeachofthe®vestrivings.Allquestionnaireswerecompletedthroughelectroniclinksemailedtotheparticipants.Becauseofsoftwarelimitations,eachelectronicquestionnairehadtobecom-pletedwithinonehour.Hence,thequestionnairesrelevanttothepresentstudyweredistributedintothreepackages:TheGCOSwascompletedinthe®rstpackage(seealsoOlesenetal. 2010 ),theRRQwascompletedinthesec-ondpackageandtheshortenedversionofPSAPwascompletedinthethirdpackage.Becausetheidenti®cationoftypicalstrivingsusuallyrequiressometimeforcon-sideration,theparticipantsweregiventheinitialpartoftheinstructionforthePSAPattheendofthesecondpackageandaskedtospendsometimethinkingabouttheirtypicalstrivingsbeforeopeningandansweringpackage3.CodingofgoalcontentThecontentofthegoalswerecodedbytwoindependentratersontwodimensions:Intrinsic-extrinsicandapproach-avoidance.Descriptionsofthesedimensionsandrulesfortheircodingwasdevelopedbythe®rstandsecondauthorthroughacombinationofthecontentcodingdescribedinEmmons( 1999 ),previousliteratureonextrinsicandintrinsicgoalsandtheactualcontentofthegoalsdescribedinthepresentsample(email®rstauthorfordetaileddescriptions).Thecontentofthegoalwasratedasextrinsicifit®ttedintooneofthefollowingcategories:``Physicalappear-ance'',``self-presentation/status/image'',``conformity''and``otherextrinsicgoals''(e.g.,®nancialsuccess).Althoughachieving®nancialsuccesshasoftenbeennominatedaprominentextrinsicgoal(e.g.KasserandRyan 1993 )itwasnotincludedasaseparatecategoryinthepresentanalysisbecauseveryfewoftheparticipants'goalscon-cerned®nancialissues.Atotalextrinsicscorewasachievedbysummingthenumberofextrinsicgoalsacrossthe®vegoals.Agoalwasratedasanavoidancegoalifthecontentclearlyindicatedthattheparticipantwastryingtoavoid,minimizeorpreventcertainoutcomes,forexample:``avoidcon¯icts''and``trytobelessshy''.Atotalavoidancescorewasachievedbysummingthenumberofavoidancegoalsacrossthe®vegoals.Thetworatersweretrainedbythe®rstandsecondauthorusingpilotdatafrom13students.Eachraterthenindependentlycodedthecontentofeachofthe®vegoalsfromthetotalsample.Thetworatersagreedon94%ofextrinsic-intrinsicratingsandon98%ofapproach-avoid-anceratingswithCohen'skappaof0.70and0.88respec-tively.Disagreementswereresolvedbydiscussion.ResultsanddiscussionRumination,re¯ectionandinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsBelowwedescribetheresultsoftestingwhetherruminationisassociatedwithlessinternalizedself-regulationandwhetherre¯ectionisassociatedwithmoreinternalizedself-regulationusingthethreedifferentassessmentsofinter-nalization:(1)globalinternalizationofself-regulation(self-rating),(2)internalizationofgoals(self-rating)and(3)extrinsicandavoidancecontentofgoals(observerrating).First,concerningtheanalysiswiththeinternalizationofself-regulation,aseriesofPearsoncorrelationswerecal-culated.Generally,theresultscon®rmedthe®ndingsfromStudy1(seeTable 2 ).Thecorrelationsbetweenruminationandautonomousandbetweenruminationandimpersonalweresigni®cantlydifferentfromthecorrelationsbetweenre¯ectionandthesamevariables.Thus,highlyruminatingindividualsshowedlessinternalizedself-regulationandhighlyre¯ectingindividualsshowedmoreinternalizedself-regulation.Second,concerningtheinternalizationofgoals,thecorrelationsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandinternali-zationofgoalsdisplayedapatternverysimilartointer-nalizationofself-regulation(seeTable 2 ).Thecorrelationsbetweenruminationandthemeasuresofinternalizedgoalsweresigni®cantlydifferentfromthecorrelationsbetweenre¯ectionandthesamevariables.Thus,highlyruminatingindividualshadmoreexternalandintrojectedgoalsandlessidenti®edandintrinsicgoals.Highlyre¯ectingindi-vidualshadmoreidenti®edandintrinsicgoals.Third,concerningthecontentofgoals,correlationsshowedthathighlyruminatingindividualsweremore Table2Study2correlationsbetweenrumination,re¯ection,inter-nalizationofself-regulation,internalizationofgoals,goalcontent,ambivalenceandcon¯ict(differencesbetweencorrelationsaretestedwithHotelling'sRuminationRe¯ectionHotelling'sAutonomous0.080.30*9.67*Controlled0.000.030.72Impersonal0.41*0.13*14.60*External0.21*0.024.75*Introjected0.30*0.026.78*Identi®ed0.15*0.09*4.93*Intrinsic0.15*0.12*5.57*Extrinsiccontent0.12*0.012.64*Avoidancecontent0.08*0.09*3.46*Ambivalence0.27*0.046.51*Con¯ict0.000.11*2.23*0.05 110MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117 likelytohavegoalswithextrinsiccontentandwithavoidancecontent.Highlyre¯ectingindividuals,ontheotherhand,werelesslikelytohavegoalswithavoidancecontent,butwerenotlesslikelytohavegoalswithextrinsiccontent.Thecorrelationsbetweenruminationandthecontentofgoalsweresigni®cantlydifferentfromthecorrelationsbetweenre¯ectionandthesamevariables(seeTable 2 ).Thus,forallthreeassessmentsofinternalization,ruminationwasassociatedwithlessinternalizationofself-regulationandgoals.Re¯ectionwasalsoassociatedwithmoreinternalizedself-regulationandgoals,althoughfeweroftheinternalizationmeasuresreachedsigni®cance.Theconvergenceofresultsusingthreedifferentassessmentsofinternalization(globalinternalizationofself-regulation,internalizationofgoalsandcontentofgoals),addsstrengthtotheconclusionthatdegreeofinternalizationmaydis-tinguishbetweenindividualspronetoruminationorre¯ection.Rumination,re¯ection,internalization,ambivalenceandcon¯ictOursecondaryhypotheseswerethatassociationsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandinternalizationofgoalswouldbepartlyexplainedbyambivalenceandgoalcon¯ict.Inordertotestthis,twostep-wisemultipleregressionswerecon-ducted.Ruminationandre¯ectionwereenteredasthedependentvariables.Genderwascontrolledforinthe®rststepoftheruminationregression,becausewomenscoredhigheronruminationthanmen((674)4.22,0.05).Inaddition,ruminationwascontrolledforintheregressionpredictingre¯ectionandre¯ectionwascontrolledforintheregressionpredictingrumination.Thiswasdonebecauseruminationandre¯ectioncorrelatedweakly((675)0.15,0.05),perhapsbecauseofasharedvarianceinself-focusedrepetitivethoughts.Controllingfortheothervariablethusensuresthatinternalizationisrelatedtotheuniqueaspectsofruminationandre¯ectionrespectively.Atthesecondstep,themeasuresofinternalizationthatweresigni®cantlycorrelatedwithrumination/re¯ectionwereentered,andatthethirdstepambivalence(forrumination)orcon¯ict(forre¯ection)wereentered.Ifthereisasta-tisticalmediationeffect,themeasuresofinternalizationshouldbesigni®cantlyassociatedwithrumination/re¯ec-tionatthesecondstep.Atthethirdstepambivalenceorcon¯ictshouldbesigni®cantlyassociatedwithrumination/re¯ectionandtheassociationsbetweenthemeasuresofinternalizationandrumination/re¯ectionshouldbesigni®-cantlyreduced(BaronandKenny 1986 ).AscanbeseenfromTable 3 ,onlyintrojectedandidenti®edmotivationwassigni®cantlyassociatedwithrumination.Thus,contentassociatedwithinternalizationdidnotcontributeindependentlytoexplainingrumination,perhapsbecausethelargemajorityofparticipantshadveryfewavoidanceandextrinsicgoalcontents(morethan600participantshad0or1avoidanceorextrinsicgoalcontent)restrictingvariationinthesevariables.Contrarytoexpec-tations,ambivalencedidnotreducetheassociationbetweenintrojected,identi®edandrumination,butratherexplainedadditionalvarianceinrumination((9,666)17.30,0.05,adj.R0.18).Theanalysiswithre¯ectionasthedependentvariableshowedthatonlyintrinsicmotivationwassigni®cantlyassociatedwithre¯ection(0.10,0.05).Atthethirdstepcon¯ictwassigni®cant(=-0.08,0.05),butdidnotreducetheassociationbetweenintrinsicandre¯ection(0.09,0.05).Thus,con¯ictdidnotmediatetherelationshipbetweenintrinsicmotivationandre¯ection,butratherexplainedadditionalvarianceinre¯ection.Thelowdegreeofvarianceaccountedforintheregression((6,669)6.50,0.05,adj.R0.05atthethirdstep),suggeststhattheinternalizationmeasuresandgoalcontentsincludedinthepresentstudywerepooreratpredictingre¯ectioncomparedtorumination.Study3InbothStudies1and2wefoundsupportfortheideathatruminationwasassociatedwithlessinternalizedself-reg-ulationsandgoals,andthatre¯ection,althoughtoalesserextent,wasassociatedwithmoreinternalizedself-regula-tionandgoals.However,inbothstudiesruminationandre¯ectionweremeasuredasgeneraltendencies,i.e.rumi-nationandre¯ectionwerenotassessedinrelationtospe-ci®cmoreorlessinternalizedgoals.Thehypotheseswouldbemorestronglysupportedifruminationandre¯ectionwereassessedspeci®callywithrelationtothemoreorlessinternalizedgoals.InStudy3weaskedparticipantstolistfourgoals,ratethesegoalsoninternalizationandrateruminationandre¯ectionspeci®callyrelatedtoeachgoal. Table3Study2regressionwithrumination,internalizationofgoals,goalcontentandambivalenceSecondstepThirdstepExternal0.060.03Introjected0.27*0.24*Identi®ed0.14*0.12*Intrinsic0.060.05Extrinsiccontent0.020.02Avoidancecontent0.020.02Ambivalence±0.14*0.05 MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117111 MethodsParticipantsTheparticipantswere83psychologystudents,76women,withameanageof23.90(SD5.32).Participantswererecruitedthroughcoursesatthedepartmentandparticipa-tionwasvoluntary.MaterialsInthe®rstsectionofthequestionnaire,participantsweregivenageneraldescriptionofstrivingsandaskedtogen-eratetheirtenmosttypicalstrivings(followingEmmons 1999 ).Theywerethenaskedtoselectfourstrivingsthatbestdescribedwhattheyweretypicallytryingtodo.Fol-lowingthis,theywereaskedtorateeachstrivingonanumberofvariables.First,theyratedeachstrivingonambivalence(andanumberofothercharacteristicsnotrelevanttothepresentstudy).Atotalambivalencescorewasderivedbyaddingthequestionsacrossthefourstriv-ings(Cronbach'salpha0.43).Theythenratedeachstrivingonthefourquestionsmeasuringinternalization(basedonSheldonandKasser 1995 ).Eachinternalizationquestionwastotaledacrossthefourstrivingstoachieveamoregeneralmeasureofinternalizationofgoals.Cron-bach'salphaforthesetotalswereinthelowerrange(0.37±0.55).Finally,participantsratedeachstrivingwithrespecttohowmuchtheyruminatedandre¯ectedoverexperiencesandactivitiesrelatedtoeachstriving.Fivequestionsmeasuringruminationand®vequestionsmea-suringre¯ectionweredevelopedforthepresentstudy(seeTable 4 ).Inthedevelopmentofthesequestions,webor-rowedheavilyfromtheRRQ(TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ),whilerewordingitemstocaptureruminationandre¯ectioninrelationtospeci®cstrivings.Inaddition,weselectedandwordeditemstobeasemotionallyneutralaspossible.Thescalesshowedhighinternalreliabilityforbothruminationandre¯ectionacrossallfourgoals(Cronbach'salpharangingfrom0.86to0.91).Atotalruminationandre¯ectionscorewascreatedbyaddingthe®veruminationand®vere¯ectionitemsforeachofthefourgoalsandagrandtotalforruminationandre¯ectionwascreatedbysummingruminationandre¯ectionacrossthefourgoals.ResultsanddiscussionInordertotestwhetherruminationwasassociatedwithlessinternalizedgoalsandwhetherre¯ectionwasassociatedwithmoreinternalizedgoalsweconductedaseriesofcorrelations.Theresultsgenerallysupportedthehypothe-ses(seeTable 5 )andwereconsistentwithresultsfromStudies1and2(althoughthecorrelationswereonlysig-ni®cantlydifferentbetweenruminationandre¯ectionforintrinsic).Likeinthepreviousstudies,ruminationandre¯ectionalsotendedtobeweaklypositivelyrelated(76)0.21,0.07).Inordertotakefulladvantageofthewithin-personnatureofthedataandtoovercomepotentialproblemswiththelowinternalreliabilitiesoftheinternalizationmeasures,amultilevellinearanalysiswasconducted(usingmaxi-mumlikelihoodestimation).Inthisanalysis,eachpartici-pantwasconsideredtonestfourgoals,whichwaseachassociatedwithonetotalforrumination(basedonthe®veitems)andfourmeasuresofinternalization(external,in-trojected,identi®edandintrinsic).Thus,participantwasenteredasthenestingvariableandthefourmeasuresofinternalizationwereenteredaspredictorsofruminationorre¯ection,whichwerethedependentvariables.Inordertocalculateabaselinemodelwhichcouldserveascomparisonforthemodelcontainingthefourmeasuresofinternalization,wecalculatedamodelcontainingonlytheinterceptfortheparticipantvariable,i.e.whetherthepar-ticipantsvariedinlevelofrumination.Theinterceptforparticipantwassigni®cant(3.48,0.05)withaloglikelihoodof1979.83andaBICof1997.20.Wethenenteredthefourmeasuresofinternalizationas®xedeffects. Table4Questionsmeasuringgoal-relatedrumination(1±5)andre¯ection(6±10)1.Sometimesit'shardformetoshutoffthoughtsaboutactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx2.Itendtodwelloveractivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingxforareallylongtimeafterwards3.Ispendmuchtimeonrehashinginmymindactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx4.MyattentionisoftenfocusedonactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingxthatIwishI'dstopthinkingabout5.Mythoughtskeepgoingbacktoactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx,longaftertheyareover6.Myattitudesandfeelingaboutactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingxfascinateme7.Iliketomeditateandre¯ectoveractivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx8.Ilikeanalyzingthecausesofactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx9.Ilikethinkingaboutthenatureandmeaningofactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingx10.Ilikethinkingaboutactivitiesandexperiencesrelatedtostrivingxinabroaderperspective 112MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117 The2loglikelihoodwas1946.88andtheBICwas1987.41.Thechangeinmodel®twassigni®cant(change(1979.83±1946.88)32.95,dfchange(2±6)4,0.05),indicatingthataddingthefourmeasuresofinternalizationincreasedthe®tofthemodel.Theinterceptforparticipantswasstillsigni®cant(2.53,0.05).Moreinterestingly,theresultsshowedthatahigherdegreeofruminationwasrelatedtoahigherdegreeofintrojectedandalowerdegreeofintrinsic(seeTable 6 ,resultsforrandomeffectsofthefourinternalizationmeasureswereallnonsigni®cant,datanotshown).Inordertoexamineifambivalenceexplainedtherelationshipbetweeninternali-zationandrumination,weranasecondmultilevellinearanalysisaddingambivalenceasapredictorvariableofrumination.Inthisnewmodel,the2loglikelihoodwas1919.85andtheBICwas1966.14.Thechangeinmodel®twassigni®cant(change(1946.88±1919.85)27.03,dfchange(6±7)1,0.05),indicatingthataddingambivalenceincreasedthe®tofthemodel.Theinterceptforparticipantsbecamenonsigni®cant(2.15,0.07).Moreinterestingly,theresultsshowedthathigherdegreeofruminationwasassociatedwithmoreambivalence.Althoughtheparameterestimatesforintrojectedandintrinsicweresomewhatreducedinthismodel,introjectedremainedsigni®cantandintrinsicwasclosetosigni®cance0.06),suggestingthatambivalenceinitselfexplainvarianceinruminationindependentofinternalization.Wethenranasimilaranalysiswithre¯ectionasthedependentvariable.Inordertocalculateabaselinemodelwhichcouldserveascomparisonforthemodelcontainingthefourmeasuresofinternalization,wecalculatedamodelcontainingonlytheinterceptfortheparticipantvariable,i.e.whethertheparticipantsvariedinlevelofre¯ection.Theinterceptforparticipantwassigni®cant(10.19,0.05)witha2loglikelihoodof1932.73andaBICof1950.08.Wethenenteredthefourmeasuresofinternali-zationas®xedeffects.The2loglikelihoodwas1884.11andtheBICwas1924.62.Thechangeinmodel®twassigni®cant(change(1932.73±1884.11)51.38,dfchange(2±6)4,0.05),indicatingthataddingthefourmeasuresofinternalizationincreasedthe®tofthemodel.Theinterceptforparticipantswasstillsigni®cant9.18,0.05).Moreinterestingly,theresultsshowedthatahigherdegreeofre¯ectionwasrelatedtoahigherdegreeofidenti®edandintrinsicandalowerdegreeofintrojected(seeTable 7 ,resultsforrandomeffectsofthefourinternalizationmeasurewereallnonsigni®cant,datanotshown).Inordertoexamineifambivalenceexplainedtherelationshipbetweeninternalizationandre¯ection,weranasecondmultilevellinearanalysisaddingambivalenceasapredictorvariableofre¯ection.However,ambivalencedidnotreachsigni®canceinthismodel.Generallyboththecorrelationsandthemultilevellinearmodelsshowedthatruminationwasrelatedtolessinter-nalizedgoals,whereasre¯ectionwasrelatedtomoreinternalizedgoals.Inaddition,rumination,butnotre¯ec-tion,wasrelatedtofeelingambivalentaboutthegoal.TheresultsarethusconsistentwiththeresultsfromStudies1and2,butextendthese®ndingsbyshowingthattheassociationsholdforruminationandre¯ectionmeasuredwithrespecttospeci®cgoals.GeneraldiscussionInthreestudieswefoundsupportforthehypothesisthatlessinternalizedself-regulationandgoalsisrelatedtoruminationusingbothglobalandmorespeci®cassess-mentsofinternalizationandruminationaswellasbothself-ratedandobserver-ratedassessments(Studies1,2and3).Thestudies,however,suggestedthatambivalenceandgoalcon¯ictdidnotexplaintherelationshipbetweeninternalizationandrumination.Thus,internalizationandambivalencecontributedindependentlytoexplainingrumination(Studies2and3).Theresultsforre¯ectionalsogenerallysupportedourpredictionsalthoughtoalesserextentthantheresultsforrumination.Re¯ectionwasassociatedwithmoreinternal-izedself-regulation,withmoreinternalizedgoalsandmoreapproachgoals(Studies1,2and3).Atthesametime Table5Study3correlationsbetweenrumination,re¯ection,andinternalizationofgoals(differencesbetweencorrelationsaretestedwithHotelling'sRuminationRe¯ectionHotelling'sExternal0.23*0.011.58Introjected0.32*0.161.18Identi®ed0.080.26*1.30Intrinsic0.200.42*5.04*Ambivalence0.36*0.053.10*0.05 Table6Study3Multilevellinearmodelswithrumination,inter-nalizationofgoalsandambivalenceFirstmodelSecondmodel(SE)(1,298±325)(SE)(1,315±323)External0.38(0.26)2.100.17(0.26)0.42Introjected0.61*(0.21)8.96*0.49*(0.20)5.93*Identi®ed0.45(0.25)3.370.75*(0.25)9.19*Intrinsic0.63*(0.23)7.67*0.42(0.23)3.46Ambivalence±1.09*(0.24)20.97*0.05 MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117113 re¯ectionwasassociatedwithhavinggoalswithlesscon-¯ict(Study2)althoughthisdidnotexplaintheassociationbetweeninternalizationandre¯ection.However,theresultsconcerningre¯ectionweregenerallyweaker(especiallyinStudy2).Thismaybebecauseindividualswithfullyinternalizedgoalstendtofocusmoreonthe¯owofexperienceorengageinmindfulnessstatesratherthanre¯ecting(BrownandRyan 2003 ).Thisisconsistentwiththeideathatnegativeaffectandeventsinviteself-focustoahigherdegreethanpositiveaffectandevents(Watkins 2008 ).Theresultstestifytotheutilityoftheconceptofinter-nalizationofgoalsandself-regulationinexplainingwhe-therrepetitivethoughtsareconstructiveorunconstructivebothatthebetween-individual(Studies1and2)andwithin-individual(Study3)level.Theseresultsarecon-sistentwiththecentralideainself-determinationtheory,i.e.thatinternalizationofself-regulationhasimportantimplicationsforef®ciencyofself-regulationandwell-being(DeciandRyan 2000 ).Severalstudieshavefoundthatruminationisrelatedtopooreremotionalandphysicalwell-being(seeBrosschotetal. 2006 ;Thomsen 2006 Watkins 2008 forreviews).Therearealsoindicationsthatruminationisrelatedtocognitivede®citsintermsofreducedcognitive¯exibility(DavisandNolen-Hoeksema 2000 ),over-generalmemory(e.g.WatkinsandTeasdale 2001 ;Watkinsetal. 2000 )andpoorerproblemsolving(Lyubomirskyetal. 1999 ;LyubomirskyandNolen-Hoek-sema 1995 ).Thus,poorinternalizationofgoalsandself-regulationmaycauseincreasedrumination,whichmaytheninterferewithgoal-progressthroughitsnegativeimpactoncognitiveresources,overtimeleadingtolowerwell-being.Withrespecttore¯ection,theresultsarealsoconsistentwithself-determinationtheorysinceahighdegreeofinternalizationhasbeenshowntobeassociatedwithaccurateself-knowledgeintheformofcongruencebetweenbehaviorandself-reportedaspectsofpersonality(Koestneretal. 1992 ).Re¯ectionmaybeanimportantprocessinfacilitatingsuchaccurateself-knowledge(e.g.TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ).Researchonrelationshipsbetweenre¯ectionandwell-beingismoresparseandsomewhatmixed,butcontrarytostudiesonemotionalwell-beingandrumination,thereappearstobenoclearrelationshipbetweenre¯ectionandemotionalwell-being(seeNolen-Hoeksemaetal. 2008 foranoverview).Thus,althoughahighdegreeofinternalizedself-regulationandgoalsisassociatedwithre¯ection,thismaynotnecessarilyleadtohigheremotionalwell-being,althoughre¯ectionmayhaveotherpotentialbene®ts.Futureresearchclearlyneedstoexaminetheconsequencesofre¯ectionusingprospectivedesigns.AlternativeinterpretationsTheideaspresentedintheintroductionfocusonhowinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsmaycauseindividualstoeitherruminateorre¯ect.However,Studies1,2and3werecross-sectionalandassuchthestudiesdonottestcausalrelationshipsbetweenrumination,re¯ectionandinternalizationofself-regulationandgoals.Itisalsopossiblethatruminationleadstopoorerinternalizationofgoals,perhapsbecauseruminationdepletescognitiveandemotionalresourcesthatareneededforintegratingnewlyacquiredgoalswithothermentalstructures.ThiswouldbeinaccordancewithKuhl's( 2000 )theoryofPersonalitySystemsInteractions(PSI).Inthistheoryitissuggestedthatstate-orientedindividuals,whoarelikelytoruminate,areunabletodown-regulatenegativeaffect.Thenegativeaffectblocksaccesstotheimplicitself,whichisaholisticrepresentationoftheself,encompassingtheindividual'sneeds,wishesandgoals.Becauseaccesstotheimplicitselfisimpededbynegativeaffect,state-orientedindividualswillbelesslikelytofullyinternalizeandintegrategoalsandthuspursuelessinternalizedgoals.Possibly,therela-tionshipbetweenruminationandlessinternalizedgoalsisdynamic,withbothin¯uencingtheotherovertime.Likewiseforre¯ection,itispossiblethatthetendencytore¯ectmakestheindividualmorelikelytointegratenewlyacquiredgoalswithothermentalstructures.Thisisbecause Table7Study3multilevellinearmodelswithre¯ection,internalizationofgoalsandambivalenceFirstmodelSecondmodel(SE)(1,298±325)(SE)(1,315±323)External0.24(0.23)1.100.23(0.24)1.01Introjected0.45*(0.19)5.92*0.45*(0.19)5.65*Identi®ed0.45*(0.22)4.12*0.44(0.23)3.62Intrinsic1.05*(0.21)26.53*1.05*(0.21)25.10*Ambivalence±0.02(0.22)0.020.05 114MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117 re¯ectionisamoreopenandexplorativethoughtprocess(TrapnellandCampbell 1999 ),whichwouldenabletheindividualtogainaccesstoawiderangeofrelevantmaterial,thuscreatinglinksbetweenthenewlyacquiredgoalsandothergoals,values,beliefsandself-schemata.InPSItheory,highlyre¯ectingindividualsmaybethosewhoareabletodown-regulatenegativeaffect(seeKrossetal. 2005 forrelevant®ndings)andgainrelativelyeasyaccesstotheimplicitself.Thiswouldincreasethelikelihoodthathighlyre¯ectingindividualswillpursuegoalsthatareincloseraccordancewiththeirbasicneeds,valuesandskills,overtimeleadingtolessnegativeaffect.Interestingly,mindfulness,aconceptdistinctfrombutweaklypositivelyrelatedtore¯ection,hasbeenshowntobeassociatedwithhighercorrespondencebetweenimplicitandexplicitmea-suresofaffectandwithautonomousself-regulation(BrownandRyan 2003 ).PerspectivesThestudiespresentedhereattempttointegrategoalbasedtheorieswiththeoriesemphasizinginternalization(DeciandRyan 2000 ;Kuhl 1992 ;MartinandTesser 1996 ).Althoughtheresultsweregenerallyconsistentwithourprimaryhypotheses,thesecondaryhypothesesfocusingonhowinternalizationmayin¯uenceruminationandre¯ec-tionwerenotsupported.Astheanalysesconcerningambivalenceandgoalcon¯ictinStudies2and3showed,theassociationbetweenlessinternalizationandruminationwasnotexplainedbythesevariables.Also,re¯ectionwasonlyweaklyrelatedtogoalcon¯ictandthisvariabledidnotexplaintheassociationbetweenre¯ectionandinter-nalization.Thus,futurestudiescouldaddressotherchar-acteristicsofmoreorlessinternalizedgoalsleadingtoeitherruminationorre¯ection.Watkins( 2008 )hassuggestedthatill-de®nedhighlevelgoals,whicharecharacterizedbyfeworunrealisticlinkstolowerlevelsubgoalsarecentralforunderstandingwhyrepetitivethoughtsbecomeunconstructive.Thepaucityofrealisticsubgoalscausealackof¯exiblemovementbetweenhigherorderandlowerordersubgoals,whichmaintainsrepetitivethoughtsinanunconstructiveformat(Watkins 2008 ).Basedonthepresent®ndings,wesuggestthatill-de®nedgoals,areill-de®nedbecausetheyarenotinternalized,i.e.theyhavenotbeenintegratedwiththeindividual'sothergoals,valuesandknowledge.Becauselessinternalizedgoalsarelessintegratedwiththeindi-vidual'sknowledgeandothergoals,theindividualmaybelessabletodevelopavarietyofsubgoals,whicharecon-gruentwithself-knowledgeandothergoals.Thelackofavarietyofrealisticsubgoalswouldprohibit¯exibleandcontext-sensitivegoalpursuit,causingproblemsingoalpursuitandleadingtorumination.Hence,futurestudiescouldinvestigateiflessinternalizedgoalsarecharacterizedby(1)fewerlinkstolowerlevelsubgoals,(2)lessrealisticlinkstosubgoalsand/or(3)linkstosubgoalsincon¯ictwithothersubgoals,andifthesecharacteristicsoflessinternalizedgoalspredict(a)poorerprogress(e.g.SheldonandElliot 1998 )and(b)dif®cultiesingoaldisengagement(Kuhl 1992 ).LimitationsTheassociationsinthepresentstudieswereweaktomoderate.InStudies1and2rumination,re¯ectionandinternalizationofself-regulationandgoalsweremeasuredasgeneraltendencies.Study3,however,wasareplicationofthecentralhypothesesusinggoalspeci®cmeasuresandtheresultstendedtobestronger.Thus,itispossiblethatamoregoalspeci®capproachwouldyieldstrongerresults.Futurestudiesmaybedesignedtomeasureinternalization,ruminationandre¯ectioninresponsetospeci®cgoalsperhapsusingawithin-subjectsexperience-samplingdesign.Thepresentstudieswerecross-sectionalandgiventhattherelationshipsbetweeninternalization,ruminationandre¯ectionareprobablydynamic,prospectivestudiesusingmultiplefollow-upmeasuresareclearlyneeded.Inthepresentstudiesconstructiveandunconstructiveself-focusedrepetitivethoughtswereoperationalizedasre¯ectionandrumination.However,awiderangeofself-focusedrepetitivethoughtshavebeenidenti®ed(e.g.Watkins 2008 )andfuturestudiesmayincludemeasuresofsuchconstructs.ConclusionInconclusion,lessinternalizationofgoalsandself-regu-lationwasassociatedwithruminationandmoreinternali-zationofself-regulationandgoalswasassociatedwithre¯ection.Thus,internalizationiscentralfordistinguishingbetweenruminationandre¯ection.Thecurrentstudiesthustestifytotheadvantagesofintegratinggoalbasedtheoriesofself-focusedrepetitivethoughtswiththeoriesempha-sizinginternalizationprocessesinself-regulation.AcknowledgmentsWewouldliketothankThomasJensen&CathrineKingofortheirhelpwithcodingthedatainStudy2andBoSommerlund&MarkShevelinfortheirstatisticalassistance.OurgratitudetotheRegistryattheUniversityofAarhus,andinparticularHansJùrgenHansenforhishelpwithrecruitingparticipantsforStudy2.AlsothankstoMimiMehlsenforhercommentsonanearlierversionofthemanuscriptandtoProfessorRichardRyanforhiseditorialwork,whichimprovedthepapersigni®cantly.ThestudywassupportedbyagrantfromtheResearchCouncilfortheHumanities(grantnumber:273-06-0395)tothe®rstandsecondauthor. MotivEmot(2011)35:105±117115 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