The constructive episodic simulation hypothesis (Schacter & Addis, 2007) posits that episodic memory plays a crucial role in generating imagined future events. These thoughts about future events can be voluntary or may occur involuntarily, as future-oriented intrusions. The intrusions can be vivid (Çili & Stopa, 2015) and appear to be linked to a person’s personal goals and concerns (Klinger, 2013). Future intrusions can be adaptive, such as in planning and decision making, but may also become maladaptive (Klinger et al., 2018) and have been associated with several clinical disorders like PTSD (Brewin et al., 2010; Clark et al., 2015; Holmes & Mathews, 2010).

Rumination is a process that involves repetitive thoughts about one’s goals and concerns (Rogers et al., 2017) and can also be described as cognitive ‘chewing’ (Cann et al., 2011). Rumination seems to be a transdiagnostic process and has been related to several clinical disorders, including PTSD (Ehring et al., 2008; Kleim et al., 2007; Michael et al., 2007). According to the Control Theory (Martin & Tesser, 1996), rumination happens when someone feels that progress toward a personal goal is too slow and continues until the goal gap is closed or the goal is abandoned. 

Taken together, future-oriented intrusions seem to reflect individuals' goals and concerns (Klinger, 2013), whereas rumination arises from perceived discrepancies between the current state and desired goals (Martin & Tesser, 1996). Rumination may therefore help explain the relationship between negative past experiences and future-oriented intrusions about similar events. Accordingly, the current study aims to examine whether negative past exam experiences influence the frequency and valence of future exam intrusions, and whether rumination mediates this relationship.