Thought suppression

Not to be confused with Thought blocking.

Thought suppression is a psychoanalytical defense mechanism. It is a type of motivated forgetting in which an individual consciously attempts to stop thinking about a particular thought.[1][2] It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).[3] OCD is when a person will repeatedly (usually unsuccessfully) attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered on one or more obsessions. It is also thought to be a cause of memory inhibition, as shown by research using the think/no think paradigm.[4] Thought suppression is relevant to both mental and behavioral levels, possibly leading to ironic effects that are contrary to intention. Ironic process theory[5] is one cognitive model that can explain the paradoxical effect.

When an individual tries to suppress thoughts under a high cognitive load, the frequency of those thoughts increases and becomes more accessible than before.[6][7] Evidence shows that people can prevent their thoughts from being translated into behavior when self-monitoring is high; this does not apply to automatic behaviors though, and may result in latent, unconscious actions.[8] This phenomenon is made paradoxically worse by increasing the amount of distractions a person has, although the experiments in this area can be criticized for using impersonal concurrent tasks, which may or may not properly reflect natural processes or individual differences.

  1. ^ Anderson, Michael C.; Huddleston, Ean (2012). "Towards a Cognitive and Neurobiological Model of Motivated Forgetting". True and False Recovered Memories. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Vol. 58. Springer, New York, NY. pp. 53–120. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.467.2903. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-1195-6_3. ISBN 9781461411949. PMID 22303764.
  2. ^ Wegner, Daniel M. (1989). White bears and other unwanted thoughts: Suppression, obsession, and the psychology of mental control. London: The Guilford Press.
  3. ^ Purdon, C. (2004). Empirical investigations of thought suppression in OCD. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35(2), 121–136. Retrieved April 8, 2014, from the PsycINFO database.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wegner94 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  7. ^ Wenzlaff, R.M., Bates, D.E. (October 2000). The Relative Efficacy of Concentration and Suppression Strategies of Mental Control. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26;1200–1212.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Macrae and Bo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).