Obsessionality and the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts

To explore the role of the thought enhancement and thought rebound effects in obsessionality, the relationship between obsessional symptomology and responding during and after the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts was examined. Ss first completed the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) [Rachman and Hodgson, 1980]. Later, Ss indicated their most frequent intrusive thought and then completed a thought suppression protocol in which they first expressed, then suppressed, and, again, expressed that thought. Ss' scores on the MOCI were examined in relation to their pattern of responding in the suppression protocol to investigate whether Ss who were higher in obsessionality were more prone to enhancement and/or rebound effects with an unpleasant personal intrusive thought than Ss who were lower in obsessionality. The following results were obtained: (1) there was a positive relationship between obsessionality levels and thought enhancement for female Ss; (2) there was a negative relationship between obsessionality levels and thought enhancement for male Ss; and (3) there was no relationship between obsessionality levels and thought rebound. These findings suggest that the rebound effect is unrelated to obsessionality and that the enhancement effect relationship to obsessionality may be more complex than previously hypothesized.