Paradoxical Effects of Worrisome Thoughts Suppression: the Influence of Depressive Mood

Sónia Silva,Luís Janeiro,Ana Teresa Martins,Marta Brás,Antónia Jiménez-Ros,Cláudia Carmo

doi:10.1007/s12144-016-9493-4

Sónia Silva, Luís Janeiro + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9493-4

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Abstract

Thought suppression increases the persistence of unwanted idiosyncratic worrisome thoughts when individuals try to suppress them. The failure of suppression may contribute to the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. Depressive people seem particularly prone to engage in unsuccessful mental control strategies such as thought suppression. Worry has been reported to be elevated in depressed individuals and a dysphoric mood may also contribute to the failure of suppression. No studies examine, however, the suppression of worrisome thoughts in individuals with depressive symptoms. To investigate the suppression effects of worrisome thoughts, 46 participants were selected according to the cut-off score of a depressive symptomatology scale, and they were divided in two groups (subclinical and nonclinical group). All of the individuals took part in an experimental paradigm of thought suppression. The results of the mixed factorial analysis of variance revealed an increased frequency of worrisome thoughts during the suppression phase, depending on the depressive symptoms. These findings confirm that a depressive mood can reduce the success of suppression.

Highlights

Thought suppression is defined as the effort not to think about a particular thought (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987)
Thought suppression is a strategy commonly used by individuals to cope with their unpleasant thoughts; paradoxically, this may contribute for the development and maintenance of such disorders
Both groups differed significantly in the frequency of experience their most distressing worrisome thought (t(44) = 2.954, p = .005), in the difficulty to support them (t(44) = 2.893, p = .006, d = .87), and in the depressive feelings caused by it (t(44) = 2.954, p = .005, d = .89)

Summary

Introduction

Thought suppression is defined as the effort not to think about a particular thought (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987). In order to explain the paradoxical effects of thought suppression, Wegner (1994) developed the ironic processes theory of mental control. This theory proposes the existence of two simultaneous mechanisms in thought suppression: (1) an intentional operating process (IOP) that performs a voluntary and conscious search for alternative thoughts (with the purpose of replacing suppression target thoughts and distract unwanted thoughts); and (2) an ironic monitoring process (IMP), automatic and unconscious, that constantly examines possible failures in the IOP. The IOP is responsible for trying to produce efforts to achieve the desired mental state For this purpose, the operating process needs intensive resources. A dysphoric mood could hamper the suppression process, resulting in higher ironic effects (Wegner, Erber, & Zanakos, 1993)

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