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Updated: Jun 10, 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
Cognitive defusion versus thought distraction: a clinical rationale, training, and experiential exercise in altering
Akihiko Masuda1, Amanda B Feinstein, Johanna W Wendell
1Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. psyaxm@langate.gsu.edu
Abstract:
Using two modes of intervention delivery, the present study compared the effects of a cognitive defusion strategy with a thought distraction strategy on the emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts. One mode of intervention delivery consisted of a clinical rationale and training (i.e., Partial condition). The other mode contained a condition-specific experiential exercise with the negative self-referential thought in addition to the clinical rationale and training (i.e., Full condition). Nonclinical undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of five protocols: Partial-Defusion, Full-Defusion, Partial-Distraction, Full-Distraction, and a distraction-based experimental control task. The Full-Defusion condition reduced the emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts significantly more than other comparison conditions. The positive results of the Full-Defusion condition were also found among participants with elevated depressive symptoms.
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