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Ironic process theory
In psychology, ironic process theory (IPT), also known as the pink elephant paradox or white bear phenomenon, suggests that when an individual intentionally tries to avoid thinking a certain thought or feeling a certain emotion, a paradoxical effect is produced: the attempted avoidance not only fails in its object but in fact causes the thought or emotion to occur more frequently and more intensely. IPT is also known as "ironic rebound," or "the white bear problem."
The phenomenon was identified through thought suppression studies in experimental psychology. Social psychologist Daniel Wegner first studied ironic process theory in a laboratory setting in 1987. Ironic mental processes have been shown in a variety of situations, where they are usually created by or worsened by stress. In extreme cases, ironic mental processes result in intrusive thoughts about doing something immoral or out of character, which can be troubling to the individual. These findings have since guided clinical practice. For example, they show why it would be unproductive to try to suppress anxiety-producing or depressing thoughts.
The first study investigating the paradoxical effects of thought suppression was conducted by Daniel Wegner in a laboratory in 1987. Wegner was an American social psychologist in the field of mental control, conscious will, etc. His interest of thought suppression was based on Freud's psychopathology theory. Freud posited that it was the unconscious that helped hide unwanted thoughts, but he failed to explain daily cases where individuals deliberately make effort to suppress a thought. Meanwhile, studies have shown that conscious thought suppression is difficult as those thoughts always linger in the mind. To explain these, some researchers started investigation. Wegner was one of them, and he conducted two laboratory experiments in 1987, asking participants to will away the thought of a white bear.
In the first study, 34 participants were asked to read instructions inducing them to describe their thoughts verbally. They were randomly allocated to either initial suppression or initial expression condition. The two conditions only differed in the order of tasks. The expression task instructed participants to think of a white bear; the suppression task instructed them not to. In both tasks, participants had to ring a bell every time they thought of a white bear. Results showed that the initial suppression group exhibited more frequent thought of the white bear in the expression task. Initial suppression, hence, produced a rebound effect.
The second experiment added a third group, asking participants to think of a red Volkswagen as a distractor during the suppression task. The results confirmed previous findings but showed that a distractor alleviated the paradoxical result caused by initial suppression as the third group rang the bell less frequently.
Wegner explains that when individuals try to suppress a thought, they may feel it difficult and then become curious about why the thought is so persistent. Although they may be able to suppress the thought temporarily, later reminders of the thought can produce a preoccupation with the formerly hidden thought. Initial suppression therefore paradoxically increases the frequency of unwanted thoughts eventually.
Wegner claims that successful thought suppression requires two distinct mental processes, that must be performed simultaneously. The first process is the operating process, which occupies mental resources to will away the unwanted thought, object, or emotion that is persistent in the mind. It works continuously until the thought is cleared completely. The second one is the monitoring process, which acts as a detector searching for unwanted thoughts. It then replaces them by shifting attention to other objects.
When individuals' attention is on another task, their mental resources become limited, making it difficult to conduct the operating process. However, the monitoring process is still running, making individuals aware of those unwanted thoughts. The shutdown of operating processes and the continuance of monitoring reduce their ability to suppress the thoughts, and the unwanted thoughts eventually become even more prominent.
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Ironic process theory
In psychology, ironic process theory (IPT), also known as the pink elephant paradox or white bear phenomenon, suggests that when an individual intentionally tries to avoid thinking a certain thought or feeling a certain emotion, a paradoxical effect is produced: the attempted avoidance not only fails in its object but in fact causes the thought or emotion to occur more frequently and more intensely. IPT is also known as "ironic rebound," or "the white bear problem."
The phenomenon was identified through thought suppression studies in experimental psychology. Social psychologist Daniel Wegner first studied ironic process theory in a laboratory setting in 1987. Ironic mental processes have been shown in a variety of situations, where they are usually created by or worsened by stress. In extreme cases, ironic mental processes result in intrusive thoughts about doing something immoral or out of character, which can be troubling to the individual. These findings have since guided clinical practice. For example, they show why it would be unproductive to try to suppress anxiety-producing or depressing thoughts.
The first study investigating the paradoxical effects of thought suppression was conducted by Daniel Wegner in a laboratory in 1987. Wegner was an American social psychologist in the field of mental control, conscious will, etc. His interest of thought suppression was based on Freud's psychopathology theory. Freud posited that it was the unconscious that helped hide unwanted thoughts, but he failed to explain daily cases where individuals deliberately make effort to suppress a thought. Meanwhile, studies have shown that conscious thought suppression is difficult as those thoughts always linger in the mind. To explain these, some researchers started investigation. Wegner was one of them, and he conducted two laboratory experiments in 1987, asking participants to will away the thought of a white bear.
In the first study, 34 participants were asked to read instructions inducing them to describe their thoughts verbally. They were randomly allocated to either initial suppression or initial expression condition. The two conditions only differed in the order of tasks. The expression task instructed participants to think of a white bear; the suppression task instructed them not to. In both tasks, participants had to ring a bell every time they thought of a white bear. Results showed that the initial suppression group exhibited more frequent thought of the white bear in the expression task. Initial suppression, hence, produced a rebound effect.
The second experiment added a third group, asking participants to think of a red Volkswagen as a distractor during the suppression task. The results confirmed previous findings but showed that a distractor alleviated the paradoxical result caused by initial suppression as the third group rang the bell less frequently.
Wegner explains that when individuals try to suppress a thought, they may feel it difficult and then become curious about why the thought is so persistent. Although they may be able to suppress the thought temporarily, later reminders of the thought can produce a preoccupation with the formerly hidden thought. Initial suppression therefore paradoxically increases the frequency of unwanted thoughts eventually.
Wegner claims that successful thought suppression requires two distinct mental processes, that must be performed simultaneously. The first process is the operating process, which occupies mental resources to will away the unwanted thought, object, or emotion that is persistent in the mind. It works continuously until the thought is cleared completely. The second one is the monitoring process, which acts as a detector searching for unwanted thoughts. It then replaces them by shifting attention to other objects.
When individuals' attention is on another task, their mental resources become limited, making it difficult to conduct the operating process. However, the monitoring process is still running, making individuals aware of those unwanted thoughts. The shutdown of operating processes and the continuance of monitoring reduce their ability to suppress the thoughts, and the unwanted thoughts eventually become even more prominent.