Is thinking about yourself helping, and how would you tell?

Paul Trapnell and Jennifer Campbell · Private Self-Consciousness and the Five-Factor Model, JPSP 76 · 1999

B · Replicated, size uncertain

The same behaviour, thinking about oneself, splits into two factors with opposite correlates. Reflection is curiosity about oneself and tracks with openness. Rumination is repetitive, self-focused attention on threat and loss, and tracks with neuroticism. The distinguishing feature is not frequency but whether the loop terminates in a conclusion or an action.

ProbeFor one week, tag each self-focused episode: did it end in a decision, or did it return to the start. Count both.

Source: Paul Trapnell and Jennifer Campbell, Private Self-Consciousness and the Five-Factor Model, JPSP 76 (1999)

Shelf: Practice

What happens if you drop the self-criticism, without dropping the standard?

Is thinking about yourself helping, and how would you tell?

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