Lecture 8: Mental Control

Question 1

What is mental control?

Answer 1

We feel the need to suppress thoughts when we are in immenent need of acting on them.

=> focus on single thought.

Conflict between urge to express and desire to inhibit.

Suppression begins with distraction.

Question 2

Ironic post-suppresion rebound effect.

Answer 2

Suppresion of emotions / thoughts will come out later and to a higher degree.

Question 3

Emotion inibition

Answer 3

Hard to suppress mood.

Question 4

Suppression vs repression

Answer 4

Repression = Freudian concept, UNCONSCIOUS process.

Suppression = trying to consciously keep something out of your mind. CONSCIOUS.

Question 5

Distractor Associations Theory

Answer 5

Thought suppression theory.

Distractors are needed in the environment to avoid later rebound when trying to suppress.

Only weakly supported by Wegner et al (1987).

Question 6

Goal Interruption Theory

Answer 6

Thought suppresion theory.

Martin (1993)

Unfulfilled goals => mental obessing. E.g. white bear study - goal being thwarted (wanting to thing about bear but not being allowed to). After they were given feedback about how well they did. Positive feedback = sense of goal achievement. Had a big effect in Wegner (1987) study but not replicated. Limited support by unpublished study.

Question 7

Ironic process theory

Answer 7

Dominant thought suppression theory Wegner (1992)

2 processes going on:

1) monitoring process (automatic) scanning mind for thing you need to suppress. If detected then…
2) Operator kicks in. Conscious and demanding of cog resources.

Gives us the ability to be able to test theory by looking at effects under increased cog load. Inhibition much harder under cog load.

Question 8

Psychopathology & thought suppression

Answer 8

Many studies showing links between thought suppression and PTSD, OCD, depression and aggressive thoughts.