Background:Self-critical rumination is the process of repetitively thinking about one’s past instances of failure without actively problem-solving. Shame has a central role within self-critical rumination and is accompanied by physiological changes that resemble stress responses.Aims:To experimentally investigate the effects of self-critical rumination on shame and stress following perceived failure.Method:Sixty volunteers engaged in an impossible task that resulted in guaranteed failure. Four groups, combining presence or absence of induced self-critical rumination with high or low performance expectations, were created. Self-reports were used to measure levels of shame and stress at baseline immediately after the task, as well as following a debrief on the real purpose of the study.Results:Participants experiencing self-critical rumination accompanied by high performance expectations reported higher levels of shame and stress, especially immediately following the impossible task. On average, members of the high-expectations groups tended to score higher on shame and stress scales. Reported levels of trait self-critical rumination were also significantly correlated with levels of shame and stress across time when controlling for group membership and baseline stress and shame, respectively.Conclusions:Self-critical rumination in highly evaluative circumstances increased levels of shame and stress following perceived failure. Even though highly evaluative conditions are considered a particularly strong predictor of shame and stress, they could potentially result in self-critical rumination; this matter needs to be addressed in future research.

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自我批评反刍对羞耻和压力的影响：一项实验研究

背景：自我批判的反省是在没有积极解决问题的情况下反复思考过去失败的过程。羞耻感在自我批判性反刍中起着核心作用，并伴随着类似于压力反应的生理变化。目的：通过实验研究自我批判性反刍对感知失败后羞耻和压力的影响。方法：60 名志愿者从事一项不可能完成的任务这导致了保证失败。创建了四组，将诱导性自我批评反刍的存在与否与高或低绩效期望相结合。自我报告用于在任务完成后立即测量基线时的羞耻和压力水平，以及对研究真正目的的汇报。结果：经历自我批评反思并伴有高绩效期望的参与者报告了更高水平的羞耻和压力，尤其是在完成不可能完成的任务之后。平均而言，高期望组的成员往往在羞耻和压力量表上得分更高。当控制群体成员和基线压力和羞耻时，报告的特质自我批评反刍水平也与羞耻和压力水平显着相关察觉到的失败。尽管高度评价的条件被认为是羞耻和压力的一个特别强的预测因素，但它们可能会导致自我批评的沉思；