Insight into the self-absorption paradox: the development of a multi-faceted model of self-consciousness ruminative and reflective thought

This thesis investigated the self-absorption paradox. This paradox describes the contradictory association whereby higher levels of self-awareness are simultaneously associated with higher levels of psychological distress and with psychological well-being. In 1999, Trapnell and Campbell explored the self-absorption paradox in relation to private self-consciousness or attention to internal aspects of the self. They concluded that the relationship of self-awareness to psychological distress derived from a ruminative aspect of private self-consciousness, whereas the relationship of self-awareness to psychological well-being was attributed to self-contemplative reflection. This thesis built on the work of Trapnell and Campbell (1999) in two ways. First, because separate private and public dimensions of self-consciousness have been evidenced, the possibility was explored that ruminative and reflective self-focus would involve both of these dimensions. Trapnell and Campbell's measure of private rumination and reflection was revised to capture the interpersonal (public) and intrapersonal (private) dimensions of self-consciousness. The second extension of Trapnell and Campbell's work was to examine a new typology of coping and adjustment that they suggested, based on different combinations of rumination and reflection. In this thesis, participants categorised as belonging to the groups within the typology were examined on personality traits, psychological symptoms and personal memories. Study 1 reports the revision of Trapnell and Campbell's (1999) Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis of the new scale, in a sample 353 respondents, identified two general factors of rumination and reflection but there was not strong empirical support for the proposed subfactors of public rumination, private rumination, public reflection, and private reflection. In Study 2, the rumination and reflection factors were substantiated through Confirmatory Factor Analysis in a separate sample of 313 respondents. It was concluded that a method effect, in which differential responding to negatively worded items, contributed to the model. Study 2 also examined the correlates of rumination and reflection with measures of personality and psychological distress. The pattern of relationships that emerged was consistent with the expectations of the model with a progression from psychological health to psychological distress evident in the associations. It appears that as one moves away from an internally focused, intellectual curiosity (reflection) to externally focused rumination, the stronger is the association with neuroticism and the higher the likelihood of psychological ill-health (i.e., an increase in distressing symptoms). The results of Study 3 relate to the examination of Trapnell and Campbell's (1999) coping taxonomy. Four groups were formed on the basis of rumination and reflection scores. One group was identified as having an 'adaptable' coping style in that they had a high level of reflection and a low level of rumination. Three other groups were identified as having maladaptive coping styles: a 'repressive' group with low levels of rumination and reflection, a 'sensitiser' group with high levels of rumination and reflection, and a 'vulnerable' group with high levels of rumination only. Different styles of coping and adjustment were compared on symptoms of psychological distress, personality factors, and self-consciousness. The pattern of results that emerged was largely consistent with expectations. Although the adaptable and repressive groups had the lowest levels of rumination and of psychological symptoms, they were still able to be differentiated. As predicted by the model, adaptable individuals were openly curious about themselves. In contrast, repressives were found to be closed to internal experiences, but unexpectedly, repressives were more socially anxious. Examination of the content of memories in the repressive group evidenced strong themes of social comparison. The sensitiser and vulnerable groups provided patterns of individual differences largely consistent with the proposed taxonomy. As expected, the sensitiser group was higher in private self-consciousness and openness to experience. In contrast, vulnerable individuals were lower in narcissism. However, when recalling personal memories, unlike the vulnerable group, sensitisers did not differentiate between past positive, anxiety or depressive experiences in terms of the time taken to retrieve the memory or in its quality. The data from the present study indicate that the distinction that Trapnell and Campbell (1999) made between privately focused rumination and reflection was not extended to a publicly focused rumination or reflection. Future directions for research include extending the model to consider other aspects of personality traits associated with rumination and reflection, such as empathy or resilience.