Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

William James observed that, within the stream of thought, the ways we think fluctuate as a function of our emotional and physical conditions. Extrapolating from James, we propose that individuals vary along a dimension called levels of thinking. High-level thinking involves thoughts that are self-reflective, demonstrate awareness of emotion, and incorporate a broad perspective. Low-level thinking lacks these properties. Using a stream-of-consciousness methodology, two experiments examined the parameters of level of thinking. Level of thinking is reliably rated, stable over a 2-month interval, and consistent across modality (across writing vs. talking into a microphone). Whereas levels of thinking are positively correlated with measures of negative affectivity, extremes in thinking are linked to indicants of health problems. The second experiment demonstrated that when individuals face uncontrollable noise bursts, they move to lower levels of thinking that preclude awareness of negative emotions. The adaptiveness of thinking on different levels is discussed in terms of James's contributions to our current understanding of health and coping.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Easterbrook, J. A. (1959). The effect of emotion on cue utilization and organization of behavior. Psychological Review, 66, 183-201.

Freud, S. (1963). Obsessive acts and religious practices. In P. Rieff (Ed.), Character and culture. New York: Collier. (Original work published 1907)

Glass, D. C. , & Singer, J. E. (1972). Urban stress. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology (Vol. 1). New York: Holt.

Klinger, E. (1978). Modes of normal conscious flow. In K. S. Pope & J. L. Singer (Eds.), The stream of consciousness. New York: Plenum.

Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York: Springer-Verlag.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1989a). Confession, inhibition, and disease. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 22). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1989b). Stream of consciousness and stress: Levels of thinking. In J. Uleman & J. Bargh (Eds.), The direction of thought: Limits of awareness, intention, and control (pp. 327-350). New York: Guilford.

10.

Pennebaker, J. W. (1990). Opening up: The healing power of confiding in others. New York: William Morrow.

11.

Pennebaker, J. W. , Colder, M. , & Sharp, L. K. (1990). Accelerating the coping process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 528-537.

12.

Pennebaker, J. W. , Hughes, C. , & O'Heeron, R. C. (1987). The psychophysiology of confession: Linking inhibitory and psychosomatic processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 781-793.

13.

Pope, K. S. , & Singer, J. L. (Eds.). (1975). The stream of consciousness. New York: Plenum.

14.

Rachman, S. J. , & Hodgson, R. J. (1980). Obsessions and compulsions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

15.

Selye, H. (1976). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill.

16.

Singer, J. L. (1984). The private personality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 10, 7-30.

17.

Vallacher, R. R. , & Wegner, D. M. (1985). A theory of action identification. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

18.

Watson, D. , & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234-254.

19.

Wegner, D. M. , Vallacher, R. R. , Macomber, G. , Wood, R. , & Arps, K. (1984). The emergence of action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 269-279.

20.

Witkin, H. A. , Goodenough, D. R. , & Oltman, P. K. (1979). Psychological differentiation: Current status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1127-1145.

21.

Wyer, R. S. , & Srull, T. K. (1986). Human cognition in its social context. Psychological Review, 93, 322-359.

Levels of Thinking

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References