Repetitive Thought and Reversal Learning Deficits

A tendency to ruminate or repetitively think about depressed mood is associated with increased perseveration in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (Davis and Nolen-Hoeksema in Cogn Ther Res 24:699–711, 2000). In the current study, we used a reversal learning task to determine if trait ruminators’ perseveration could be driven, at least in part, by a cognitive process called reversal learning, that is, the ability to learn from feedback of the need to reverse stimulus-reward associations. We also examined whether reversal learning would be generally associated with repetitive thought regardless of whether it is maladaptive (depressive brooding, anger rumination, and worry) or adaptive (intellectual selfreflection, and depressive reflection). The results suggest that a tendency to engage in repetitive thought, regardless of its adaptiveness, is related to difficulties reversing stimulus-reward associations but not to the ability to initially learn reward associations.