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Cited by 141Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesIdentity, Memory, and TherapyBehavioral Health and Interventions

Dysregulation in level of goal and action identification across psychological disorders

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Watkins, Edward·2011·Clinical Psychology Review
DOI 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.05.004PMC PMC3043255
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Abstract

Goals, events, and actions can be mentally represented within a hierarchical framework that ranges from more abstract to more concrete levels of identification. A more abstract level of identification involves general, superordinate, and decontextualized mental representations that convey the meaning of goals, events, and actions, "why" an action is performed, and its purpose, ends, and consequences. A more concrete level of identification involves specific and subordinate mental representations that include contextual details of goals, events, and actions, and the specific "how" details of an action. This review considers three lines of evidence for considering that dysregulation of level of goal/action identification may be a transdiagnostic process. First, there is evidence that different levels of identification have distinct functional consequences and that in non-clinical samples level of goal/action identification appears to be regulated in a flexible and adaptive way to match the level of goal/action identification to circumstances. Second, there is evidence that level of goal/action identification causally influences symptoms and processes involved in psychological disorders, including emotional response, repetitive thought, impulsivity, problem solving and procrastination. Third, there is evidence that the level of goal/action identification is biased and/or dysregulated in certain psychological disorders, with a bias towards more abstract identification for negative events in depression, GAD, PTSD, and social anxiety.

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Martin, 1996, Some ruminative thoughts, Vol. 9, 1
  2. Wiers, R.W., Field, M., and Stacy, A.W. (in press). Passion's slave? Cognitive processes in alcohol and drug abuse. In K. Sher (Ed.) Oxford Handbook of Substance Use Disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Authors
Watkins, E.
Affiliations
University of Exeter (GB)
Corresponding author
Watkins, Edward
ORCID
Watkins, Edward
Venue
Clinical Psychology Review
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-03
Volume
31
Issue
2
Pages
260-278
ISSN
0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.cpr.2010.05.004
PMC
PMC3043255
OpenAlex
W2123153299
Cited by
141
References
176
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 13
FWCI
1.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
Keywords
action identification, transdiagnostic mechanisms, mental illness, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, emotional responses, repetitive thinking, impulsivity, problem solving, procrastination, abstract versus concrete thinking
MeSH terms
Mental Disorders, Goals, Humans, Problem Solving, Psychological Theory

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