Voluntary involuntariness: thought suppression and the regulation of the experience of will
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
Daniel M Wegner1, James A K Erskine
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. wegner@wjh.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Participants were asked to carry out a series of simple tasks while following mental control instructions. In advance of each task, they either suppressed thoughts of their intention to perform the task, concentrated on such thoughts, or monitored their thoughts without trying to change them. Suppression resulted in reduced reports of intentionality as compared to monitoring, and as compared to concentration. There was a weak trend for suppression to enhance reported intentionality for a repetition of the action carried out after suppression instructions had been discontinued.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Regulation
Subconsciousness and No Awareness
An illustrative example of subconscious processing is its role in problem-solving. Often, individuals...
Reason and Intuition
Repressed Memory
Subliminal Perception
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

