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Ironic processes of mental control

D M Wegner1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22903.

Psychological Review
|January 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Efforts to control your thoughts can backfire due to ironic processes. A monitoring process may override the operating process, making you focus on unwanted thoughts when mentally taxed.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Mental Control Theory

Background:

  • Self-control involves managing mental states.
  • Efforts at mental control can yield unintended consequences.
  • Existing theories do not fully explain these ironic effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a theory of ironic processes of mental control.
  • To explain both intentional and counterintentional effects of self-control.
  • To elucidate the cognitive mechanisms underlying mental control.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical proposal outlining two key processes: operating and monitoring.
  • Analysis of cognitive capacity's role in modulating these processes.
  • Examination of conditions under which monitoring supersedes operating processes.

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Main Results:

  • Mental control involves an operating process (promoting intended state) and a monitoring process (detecting deviations).
  • The operating process requires more cognitive capacity than the monitoring process.
  • Reduced cognitive capacity can lead the monitoring process to dominate, increasing focus on undesired mental content.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed theory accounts for ironic effects in mental control.
  • Cognitive load can shift control from the operating to the monitoring process.
  • This shift explains why attempts at suppression can paradoxically increase awareness of unwanted thoughts.