A further experimental investigation of thought suppression
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Updated: Nov 7, 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
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, U.K.
Abstract:
It has often been suggested that attempts to suppress a thought will lead to an immediate and/or delayed increase in its occurrence. In a recent experiment (Clark, Ball & Pape, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 29, 253-257, 1991) we obtained a delayed (rebound) effect but failed to demonstrate an immediate enhancement effect. Lavey and van den Hout (Behavioural Psychotherapy, 18, 251-258, 1991) have suggested immediate enhancement might be observed only if subjects are instructed not to use distraction while suppressing. The present experiment tested this hypothesis. An immediate enhancement effect was not obtained but the delayed (rebound) effect was twice replicated and an artifactual explanation of this effect was discounted.
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