J. K. BRINKER ET AL.
the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, which does not easily differ-
entiate between the inhibition of previous set and the maintain-
ing of attention on the new set. Executive functions are a com-
plex set of abilities and reside in a number of brain structures
limiting the ability to examine them in isolation (Rogers et al.,
2004). In reality, attempts to differentiate executive functions
may be as artificial as trying to separate depression and rumina-
tion since the interaction between these functions is inevitable.
However, it does suggest that the amelioration of depressed
mood may not necessarily influence the tendency to ruminate,
and this lingering behaviour, may pose a vulnerability to future
depressive episodes.
Finally, it is important to note that the experimental induc-
tions used in these experiments did not produce differences in
mood or cognitive performance and this makes perfect sense
given the theory on which they were created (Lyubomirsky &
Nolen-Hoeksema, 1995; Nolen-Hoeksema, Parker, & Larson,
1994). In the response style theory, individuals ruminate in re-
sponse to existing depressed mood. Asking participants to
spend time focusing on themselves, how they feel and the pos-
sible causes and consequences of those feelings would not pro-
duce consistent outcomes if those individuals are not all ex-
periencing negative mood. Viewing rumination as a style of
thinking is not in conflict with the response style theory, but
simply a different perspective that examines the process of
rumination. New induction procedures that mimic the process
of rumination, independent of content and mood, are needed to
undertake an experimental examination and to establish causal
direction. Current findings show that a ruminative style of
thinking predicts subsequent performance, and it may be that
rumination impairs executive function. However, it seems more
intuitive that structure leads function, and therefore individual
differences in executive function dispose some individuals to a
ruminative style of thinking. Until it is possible to manipulate
one and to observe changes in the other, the causal direction in
this relationship will remain unknown. This area of research has
many more questions than answers, but in time the relationship
between ruminative thinking, executive function and mood will
be clarified and provide further guidance in treating depressed
mood.
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