Are rumination and reflection types of self-focused attention?

Running head: SELF-FOCUSED ATTENTION AND EVALUATION

This study investigated the effects of self-focused attention and evaluation on the perceived performance of individuals high in social anxiety. High and low socially anxious participants (n = 92) were asked to give four short speeches under different conditions of increased self-focused attention (in front of a mirror) or decreased self-focused attention (in front of a poster), and/or under co...

Self-Focus 1 Running Head: SELF-FOCUSED ATTENTION When the Self Stands Out: Figure–Ground Effects on Self-Focused Attention

Mediating Role of Decentering in the Associations between Self-Reflection, Self-Rumination, and Depressive Symptoms

Theorists have suggested that self-focused attention has adaptive and maladaptive aspects and have proposed self-rumination and self-reflection. Previous research on self-focus and mindfulness have shown that self-rumination increases depression and counteracts decentering which is the capacity to take a detached view of one’s thoughts and emotions. On the contrary, although self-reflection was...

Happy mood decreases self-focused attention.

Research addressing the influence of happy mood on self-focused attention has yielded inconsistent results. Some studies found that happy mood decreased self-focus relative to sad mood. Other studies did not detect a significant difference between happy and neutral mood, and still other studies found that happy mood, relative to neutral mood, increased self-focus. These investigations have pote...

Self-reflection Orients Visual Attention Downward

Previous research has demonstrated abstract concepts associated with spatial location (e.g., God in the Heavens) could direct visual attention upward or downward, because thinking about the abstract concepts activates the corresponding vertical perceptual symbols. For self-concept, there are similar metaphors (e.g., "I am above others"). However, whether thinking about the self can induce visua...