Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression
Individuals fail to suppress certain thoughts, especially under conditions that tax cognitive resources. We investigated the impact of modifying psychological reactance pressures on thought suppression attempts. Participants were asked to suppress thoughts of a target item under standard experimenta...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9980806/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1811159920599367680 |
|---|---|
| author | Matthew Wallaert Andrew Ward Traci Mann |
| author_facet | Matthew Wallaert Andrew Ward Traci Mann |
| author_sort | Matthew Wallaert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Individuals fail to suppress certain thoughts, especially under conditions that tax cognitive resources. We investigated the impact of modifying psychological reactance pressures on thought suppression attempts. Participants were asked to suppress thoughts of a target item under standard experimental conditions or under conditions designed to lower reactance pressures. In the presence of high cognitive load, weakening associated reactance pressures resulted in greater success at suppression. The results suggest that reducing relevant motivational pressures can facilitate thought suppression, even when an individual experiences cognitive limitation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:48:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a532c92e289149aebdf266da3be27713 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:48:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-a532c92e289149aebdf266da3be277132023-03-05T05:31:31ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppressionMatthew WallaertAndrew WardTraci MannIndividuals fail to suppress certain thoughts, especially under conditions that tax cognitive resources. We investigated the impact of modifying psychological reactance pressures on thought suppression attempts. Participants were asked to suppress thoughts of a target item under standard experimental conditions or under conditions designed to lower reactance pressures. In the presence of high cognitive load, weakening associated reactance pressures resulted in greater success at suppression. The results suggest that reducing relevant motivational pressures can facilitate thought suppression, even when an individual experiences cognitive limitation.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9980806/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Wallaert Andrew Ward Traci Mann Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression PLoS ONE |
| title | Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| title_full | Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| title_fullStr | Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| title_short | Taming the white bear: Lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| title_sort | taming the white bear lowering reactance pressures enhances thought suppression |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9980806/?tool=EBI |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT matthewwallaert tamingthewhitebearloweringreactancepressuresenhancesthoughtsuppression AT andrewward tamingthewhitebearloweringreactancepressuresenhancesthoughtsuppression AT tracimann tamingthewhitebearloweringreactancepressuresenhancesthoughtsuppression |