The ironic effect of thought suppression is most likely to occur when a person is:

Meta-Analysis

. 2020 May;15(3):778-793.

doi: 10.1177/1745691619898795. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

Affiliations

  • PMID: 32286932
  • DOI: 10.1177/1745691619898795

Free article

Meta-Analysis

Ironic Effects of Thought Suppression: A Meta-Analysis

Deming Adam Wang et al. Perspect Psychol Sci. 2020 May.

Free article

Abstract

The ironic effect of thought suppression refers to the phenomenon in which individuals trying to rid their mind of a target thought ironically experience greater levels of occurrence and accessibility of the thought compared with individuals who deliberately concentrate on the thought (Wegner, 1994, doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.1.34). Ironic effects occurring after thought suppression, also known as rebound effects, were consistently detected by previous meta-analyses. However, ironic effects that occur during thought suppression, also known as immediate enhancement effects, were found to be largely absent. In this meta-analysis, we test Wegner's original proposition that detection of immediate enhancement effects depends on the cognitive load experienced by individuals when enacting thought suppression. Given that thought suppression is an effortful cognitive process, we propose that the introduction of additional cognitive load would compete for the allocation of existing cognitive resources and impair capacity for thought suppression. Studies (k = 31) consistent with Wegner's original thought-suppression paradigm were analyzed. Consistent with our predictions, rebound effects were observed regardless of cognitive load, whereas immediate enhancement effects were observed only in the presence of cognitive load. We discuss implications in light of ironic-process theory and suggest future thought-suppression research.

Keywords: cognitive load; immediate enhancement effect; ironic effect; rebound effect; thought suppression.

Similar articles

  • 'When suppression backfires': the ironic effects of suppressing eating-related thoughts.

    Soetens B, Braet C, Dejonckheere P, Roets A. Soetens B, et al. J Health Psychol. 2006 Sep;11(5):655-68. doi: 10.1177/1359105306066615. J Health Psychol. 2006. PMID: 16908464 Clinical Trial.

  • Individual differences in the Wegner rebound effect: evidence for a moderator variable in thought rebound following thought suppression.

    Rutledge PC, Hollenberg D, Hancock RA. Rutledge PC, et al. Psychol Rep. 1993 Jun;72(3 Pt 1):867-80. doi: 10.2466/pr0.1993.72.3.867. Psychol Rep. 1993. PMID: 8332689

  • Contrasting the ironic monitoring and motivational explanations of postsuppressional rebound.

    Enticott PG, Gold RS. Enticott PG, et al. Psychol Rep. 2002 Apr;90(2):447-50. doi: 10.2466/pr0.2002.90.2.447. Psychol Rep. 2002. PMID: 12061583

  • Mind-wandering, cognition, and performance: a theory-driven meta-analysis of attention regulation.

    Randall JG, Oswald FL, Beier ME. Randall JG, et al. Psychol Bull. 2014 Nov;140(6):1411-1431. doi: 10.1037/a0037428. Epub 2014 Aug 4. Psychol Bull. 2014. PMID: 25089941 Review.

  • Thought suppression and psychopathology.

    Purdon C. Purdon C. Behav Res Ther. 1999 Nov;37(11):1029-54. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(98)00200-9. Behav Res Ther. 1999. PMID: 10500319 Review.

Cited by

  • Alterations of Power Spectral Density in Salience Network during Thought-action Fusion Induction Paradigm in Obsessive-compulsive Disorder.

    Lee SW, Kim E, Jang TY, Choi H, Kim S, Song H, Hwang MJ, Chang Y, Lee SJ. Lee SW, et al. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2022 Aug 31;20(3):415-426. doi: 10.9758/cpn.2022.20.3.415. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2022. PMID: 35879026 Free PMC article.

  • Prior information can alter how sounds are perceived and emotionally regulated.

    Kolbeinsson Ö, Asutay E, Wallqvist J, Hesser H. Kolbeinsson Ö, et al. Heliyon. 2022 Jun 24;8(6):e09793. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09793. eCollection 2022 Jun. Heliyon. 2022. PMID: 35785226 Free PMC article.

  • Parenting Intervention for Psychological Flexibility and Emotion Regulation: Clinical Protocol and an Evidence-Based Case Study.

    Flujas-Contreras JM, García-Palacios A, Gómez I. Flujas-Contreras JM, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 20;19(9):5014. doi: 10.3390/ijerph29095014. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022. PMID: 35564408 Free PMC article.

  • No sound is more distracting than the one you're trying not to hear: delayed costs of mental control of task-irrelevant neutral and emotional sounds.

    Kolbeinsson Ö, Asutay E, Enström M, Sand J, Hesser H. Kolbeinsson Ö, et al. BMC Psychol. 2022 Feb 21;10(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s40359-022-00751-6. BMC Psychol. 2022. PMID: 35189964 Free PMC article.

  • Modelling the Contribution of Metacognitions, Impulsiveness, and Thought Suppression to Behavioural Addictions in Adolescents.

    Efrati Y, Kolubinski DC, Marino C, Spada MM. Efrati Y, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 6;18(7):3820. doi: 10.3390/ijerph28073820. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 33917425 Free PMC article.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

  • Full Text Sources

    • Atypon
    • eScholarship, California Digital Library, University of California

What is thought suppression in psychology?

Thought suppression is a psychological defence mechanism. It is a type of motivated forgetting in which an individual consciously attempts to stop thinking about a particular thought. It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).

What happens when you suppress thoughts?

Indeed, because of the frequent intrusiveness of formally suppressed thoughts, suppression has been implicated in the potential maintenance and causes of a wide variety of mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression (Erskine et al., 2007; Purdon, ...

What is meant by ironic effects?

Wegner (1994) coined the term 'ironic effect' to describe the uncontrollable preoccupation with a 'to-be-supressed' thought that individuals experience during and after thought suppression.

What is the rebound effect of thought suppression?

The rebound effect is characterized by the higher levels of post-suppression resurgence and accessibility of the target thought experienced by individuals engaged in thought suppression relative to individuals who did not suppress the target thought in the first place.