Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ)

Source:

Trapnell, P. D., & Campbell, J. D. (1999). Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality:
Distinguishing rumination from reflection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 284-304.

Contents:

1. Print version of RRQ (.docx)

2. Scoring instructions (SPSS example)

3. Descriptive statistics (from Trapnell and Campbell, 1999)

4. Plain text RRQ items and instructions (e.g., for online use)
 RRQ
Instructions:
For each of the statements located on the next two pages, please indicate your level of agreement or
disagreement by circling one of the scale categories to the right of each statement. Use the scale as shown
below:

Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5

1. My attention is often focused on aspects of myself I wish I'd stop

thinking about.................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

2. I always seem to be "re-hashing" in my mind recent things I've said

or done. .............................................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Sometimes it is hard for me to shut off thoughts about myself. ........................................ 1 2 3 4 5

4. Long after an argument or disagreement is over with, my thoughts keep

going back to what happened. ........................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

5. I tend to "ruminate" or dwell over things that happen to me for a really

long time afterward. .......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

6. I don't waste time re-thinking things that are over and done with..................................... 1 2 3 4 5

7. Often I'm playing back over in my mind how I acted in a past situation. ......................... 1 2 3 4 5

8. I often find myself re-evaluating something I've done. ..................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

9. I never ruminate or dwell on myself for very long............................................................ 1 2 3 4 5

10. It is easy for me to put unwanted thoughts out of my mind. ............................................. 1 2 3 4 5

11. I often reflect on episodes in my life that I should no longer concern

myself with. ....................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

12. I spend a great deal of time thinking back over my embarrassing or

disappointing moments. .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

PLEASE CONTINUE ON THE NEXT PAGE...

 Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5

13. Philosophical or abstract thinking doesn't appeal to me that much. .................................. 1 2 3 4 5

14. I'm not really a meditative type of person. ........................................................................ 1 2 3 4 5

15. I love exploring my "inner" self. ....................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

16. My attitudes and feelings about things fascinate me. ........................................................ 1 2 3 4 5

17. I don't really care for introspective or self-reflective thinking. ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5

18. I love analyzing why I do things. ...................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

19. People often say I'm a "deep", introspective type of person. ............................................ 1 2 3 4 5

20. I don't care much for self-analysis..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

21. I'm very self-inquisitive by nature..................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

22. I love to meditate on the nature and meaning of things. ................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

23. I often love to look at my life in philosophical ways. ....................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

24. Contemplating myself isn't my idea of fun. ...................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5

*Plain text RRQ items and instructions (e.g., for online use).
Note: Item order below corresponds to the recommended item administration order shown in the print version above: items 1-12
below are the Rumination scale items, and items 13-24 below are the Reflection scale items. The instruction text below is
modified slightly from the print version to better accommodate online administration. In online surveys, we recommend
administering the rumination and reflections items on different pages with non-identical page titles (e.g., “RMQ” and “RFQ”, for
rumination and reflection pages, respectively.).

RRQ

For each of the following statements, please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement using the 5-
point scale shown to the right of each statement (1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree,
5=Strongly Agree).

My attention is often focused on aspects of myself I wish I'd stop thinking about.
I always seem to be "re-hashing" in my mind recent things I've said or done.
Sometimes it is hard for me to shut off thoughts about myself.
Long after an argument or disagreement is over with, my thoughts keep going back to what happened.
I tend to "ruminate" or dwell over things that happen to me for a really long time afterward.
I don't waste time re-thinking things that are over and done with.
Often I'm playing back over in my mind how I acted in a past situation.
I often find myself re-evaluating something I've done.
I never ruminate or dwell on myself for very long.
It is easy for me to put unwanted thoughts out of my mind.
I often reflect on episodes in my life that I should no longer concern myself with.
I spend a great deal of time thinking back over my embarrassing or disappointing moments.

Philosophical or abstract thinking doesn't appeal to me that much.

I'm not really a meditative type of person.
I love exploring my "inner" self.
My attitudes and feelings about things fascinate me.
I don't really care for introspective or self-reflective thinking.
I love analyzing why I do things.
People often say I'm a "deep", introspective type of person.
I don't care much for self-analysis.
I'm very self-inquisitive by nature.
I love to meditate on the nature and meaning of things.
I often love to look at my life in philosophical ways.
Contemplating myself isn't my idea of fun.
*Scoring Instructions (SPSS syntax example).

*Step 1: Reverse code the 8 reverse-scored items.

RECODE
rrq6, rrq9, rrq10,
rrq13, rrq14, rrq17, rrq20, rrq24
(5=1) (1=5) (4=2) (2=4).

*Step 2: Compute scale scores.

COMPUTE rrq.rumination = mean(rrq1 to rrq12).

COMPUTE rrq.reflection = mean(rrq13 to rrq24).

*Psychometric information (Trapnell and Campbell, 1999, Table 4, p. 294)