Topic
Thought suppression
About: Thought suppression is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 690 publications have been published within this topic receiving 37060 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: A theory of ironic processes of mental control is proposed to account for the intentional and counterintentional effects that result from efforts at self-control of mental states.
Abstract: A theory of ironic processes of mental control is proposed to account for the intentional and counterintentional effects that result from efforts at self-control of mental states. The theory holds that an attempt to control the mind introduces 2 processes: (a) an operating process that promotes the intended change by searching for mental contents consistent with the intended state and (b) a monitoring process that tests whether the operating process is needed by searching for mental contents inconsistent with the intended state. The operating process requires greater cognitive capacity and normally has more pronounced cognitive effects than the monitoring process, and the 2 working together thus promote whatever degree of mental control is enjoyed. Under conditions that reduce capacity, however, the monitoring process may supersede the operating process and thus enhance the person's sensitivity to mental contents that are the ironic opposite of those that are intended.
2,609 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, subjects verbalizing the stream of consciousness for a 5min period were asked to try not to think of a white bear, but to ring a bell in case they did.
Abstract: In a first experiment, subjects verbalizing the stream of consciousness for a 5-min period were asked to try not to think of a white bear, but to ring a bell in case they did. As indicated both by mentions and by bell rings, they were unable to suppress the thought as instructed. On being asked after this suppression task to think about the white bear for a 5-min period, these subjects showed significantly more tokens of thought about the bear than did subjects who were asked to think about a white bear from the outset. These observations suggest that attempted thought suppression has paradoxical effects as a self-control strategy, perhaps even producing the very obsession or preoccupation that it is directed against. A second experiment replicated these findings and showed that subjects given a specific thought to use as a distracter during suppression were less likely to exhibit later preoccupation with the thought to be suppressed.
2,061 citations
TL;DR: A self-report measure of thought suppression that was inversely correlated with repression as assessed by the Repression-Sensitization Scale, and so taps a trait that is quite unlike repression as traditionally conceived.
Abstract: We conducted several tests of the idea that an inclination toward thought suppression is associated with obsessive thinking and emotional reactivity. Initially, we developed a self-report measure of thought suppression through successive factor-analytic procedures and found that it exhibited acceptable internal consistency and temporal stability. This measure, the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), was found to correlate with measures of obsessional thinking and depressive and anxious affect, to predict signs of clinical obsession among individuals prone toward obsessional thinking, to predict depression among individuals motivated to dislike negative thoughts, and to predict failure of electrodermal responses to habituate among people having emotional thoughts. The WBSI was inversely correlated with repression as assessed by the Repression-Sensitization Scale, and so taps a trait that is quite unlike repression as traditionally conceived.
1,330 citations
TL;DR: With repeated practice, the frequency, duration and discomfort of obsessions are observed to decrease, and this is considered to be consistent with the noxious stimulus cum habituation theory.
1,191 citations
TL;DR: Although both groups reported similar levels of subjective distress during the film, the acceptance group displayed less negative affect during the post-film recovery period, and the suppression group showed increased heart rate and theaccept group decreased heart rate in response to the film.
874 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2022 | 12 |
| 2021 | 18 |
| 2020 | 18 |
| 2019 | 16 |