Full title: Technology which Makes You Think: The Reflection, Rumination and Thought in Technology Scale
Published in: Proc. ACM Interact. Mob. Wearable Ubiquitous Technol., Vol. 8, No. 2, Article 59 (June 2024)
DOI: 10.1145/3659615
Authors: Meagan B. Loerakker, Jasmin Niess, Paweł W. Woźniak
The R2T2 goes beyond the TSRI by capturing not only reflection but also rumination and self-focused thinking as distinct design outcomes. Prior work showed that technologies for reflection can inadvertently trigger negative thought cycles (rumination). R2T2 allows researchers to distinguish between these processes and design accordingly. Unlike the TSRI, R2T2 can be applied to any technology — it is not limited to data-driven personal informatics systems.
The scale has two scoreable subscales — Reflection (REF) and Rumination (RUM) — plus three additional self-focused thinking items (THK). There is no THK subscale: the THK items do not form an independent subscale and self-focused thinking can only be assessed using all nine items together. This reflects a key theoretical principle: while reflection and rumination are separable, they are both expressions of an underlying process of self-focused thinking that cannot be disentangled from them.
Reflection (REF) — the degree to which the technology stimulates positive self-focused thought, prompting the user to analyse their behaviours and actions.
Rumination (RUM) — the degree to which the technology fosters negative thought cycles; dwelling on past situations in a way that may be detrimental.
Self-focused Thinking (THK items) — three items that capture general inward thinking about one’s actions, thoughts, and feelings. These contribute to the total score only; they do not form a standalone subscale.
Participants respond on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree). There are no reversed items.
| ID | Item | Role |
|---|---|---|
| REF1 | Using this technology made me conscious of my behaviours | R2T2-REF |
| REF2 | This technology helps me to be able to reflect more easily on my actions | R2T2-REF |
| REF3 | This technology supports reflecting on my behaviours as an ongoing activity | R2T2-REF |
| RUM1 | This technology can put me in a negative thought cycle | R2T2-RUM |
| RUM2 | This technology makes me more likely to ruminate about a past situation | R2T2-RUM |
| RUM3 | Using this technology can make me ruminate or dwell over things that happened for a long time afterward | R2T2-RUM |
| THK1 | This technology makes me feel that it is important to me to understand what my feelings mean | Total only |
| THK2 | This technology supports me in usually knowing why I feel the way I do | Total only |
| THK3 | This technology makes me feel that it is important to me to be able to understand how my thoughts arise | Total only |
R2T2 = R2T2-REF + R2T2-RUM + THK1 + THK2 + THK3
R2T2-REF = REF1 + REF2 + REF3
R2T2-RUM = RUM1 + RUM2 + RUM3