Using Expressive Writing to Test an Evolutionary Hypothesis About Depressive Rumination: Sadness Coincides with Causal Analysis of a Personal Problem, Not Problem-solving Analysis

The analytical rumination hypothesis proposes that depression is an evolved response to complicated life stressors or problems. As part of this response, depressive symptoms promote analytical rumination, a prolonged and distraction-resistant style of thinking that functions to address the triggering problem. Analytical rumination involves analytical thinking about why the problem happened (i.e., causal analysis) and how it can be solved or …