ABSTRACT
Kierkegaard, a nineteenth century Danish philosopher, discusses the “Knight of Faith,” whose unshakably consistent world view allows him to accept stressors such as negative life events without cognitive distress or other negative consequences. In contrast to the Knight of Faith, Kierkegaard further discusses other character types less well equipped to handle stress who end up depressed (e.g., “infinitely resigned” with a “sickness unto death”) or anxious (with “fear and trembling”). Kierkegaard's identification of people's attitudes towards stressors as casual contributors in the formation of mood states has important similarities to contemporary cognitive theory. Seen through the modern lens of Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) idea of coping as the mediator between stress and distress, Kierkegaard's precedent suggests an understanding of euthymic, anxious and depressive states as products of alternative coping strategies for dealing with common stressful occurrences, such as cognitive interference. Cognitive interference, the presence of intrusive, negatively valenced cognitions often concerning themes of danger or failure (Sarason, 1984), is one of a core of cognitive features often present in people who are depressed or anxious (e.g., Ingram, 1990; Clark & Watson, 1991).
