Cleansing the Attentional Palate: A Preliminary Test of a Novel Approach to Facilitate Disengagement From Rumination

Resource allocation theory suggests that rumination depletes cognitive resources that could be directed toward task-relevant processes. We propose a new approach to the treatment of rumination that specifically targets this misappropriation of cognitive resources, wherein individuals engage in an attentionally demanding task in order to interrupt the ruminative cycle. We argue that this strategy would serve to free cognitive resources from rumination and facilitate performance on other tasks. Thus, the present study served as an initial test of this novel approach. This study employed a within-subjects design, in which participants were 30 college students who completed self-report measures of baseline mood state, anxiety, depression, and trait rumination. Subsequently, they underwent sad mood and rumination inductions followed by random assignment to either a low attentional demand disengagement strategy (DS) followed by a high attentional demand DS or vice versa. Reading comprehension was assessed at baseline and following each of the two DSs. The high attentional demand DS condition was associated with better performance on the reading comprehension task compared to the low attentional demand DS condition. These results provide initial support for our novel approach to targeting rumination and demonstrate that attentionally demanding DSs may successfully free cognitive resources that might otherwise be consumed by rumination. Thus, future research into attentionally demanding DSs that interrupt ruminative cycles is warranted. This approach could be a useful adjunct for interventions targeting disorders driven by rumination, such as depression.