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Chronic thought suppression

D M Wegner1, S Zanakos

  • 1University of Virginia.

Journal of Personality
|December 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Individuals who try to suppress unwanted thoughts may experience more obsessive thinking and emotional reactivity. A new measure, the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), quantifies this tendency and its psychological correlates.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Thought suppression is a cognitive strategy aimed at reducing the recurrence of unwanted thoughts.
  • Previous research suggests a potential link between thought suppression and negative psychological outcomes, but a reliable measure was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a self-report measure of thought suppression.
  • To investigate the association between thought suppression and obsessive thinking, emotional reactivity, and related psychological constructs.

Main Methods:

  • Development of the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) using factor-analytic procedures.
  • Correlational analyses between WBSI scores and measures of obsessional thinking, affect (depression, anxiety), and repression.

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  • Prediction of clinical obsession signs, depression, and electrodermal response habituation.

    • Main Results:

    • The WBSI demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and temporal stability.
    • WBSI scores positively correlated with obsessional thinking, depressive, and anxious affect.
    • The WBSI predicted clinical obsession, depression in certain individuals, and impaired electrodermal habituation to emotional stimuli.

    Conclusions:

    • The White Bear Suppression Inventory is a reliable measure for assessing thought suppression tendencies.
    • A propensity for thought suppression is linked to increased obsessive thinking and emotional reactivity.
    • Thought suppression appears distinct from traditional concepts of repression.