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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: March 14, 2025
Why did the white bear return? Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and attributions for unsuccessful thought suppression
Joshua C Magee1, Bethany A Teachman
1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, PO Box 400400, 102 Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4400, USA. jcm7m@virginia.edu
Abstract:
The current study examined the nature and consequences of attributions about unsuccessful thought suppression. Undergraduate students with either high (n=67) or low (n=59) levels of obsessive-compulsive symptoms rated attributions to explain their unsuccessful thought suppression attempts. We expected that self-blaming attributions and attributions ascribing importance to unwanted thoughts would predict more distress and greater recurrence of thoughts during time spent monitoring or suppressing unwanted thoughts. Further, we expected that these attributions would mediate the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptom levels and the negative thought suppression outcomes (distress and thought recurrence). Structural equation models largely confirmed the hypotheses, suggesting that attributions may be an important factor in explaining the consequences of thought suppression. Implications are discussed for cognitive theories of obsessive-compulsive disorder and thought suppression.
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