Ironic Process Theory
Encyclopedia
Ironic processing is the psychological process whereby an individual's deliberate attempts to suppress or avoid certain thoughts (thought suppression
) render those thoughts more persistent.
): The first unconsciously and automatically monitors for occurrences (monitoring processes) of the unwanted thought, calling upon the second (conscious operating processes) should the thought begin to intrude. This theory explains the effects of increased cognitive load by emphasizing that where there is cognitive effort, the monitoring process may supplant the conscious process, also suggesting that in order for thought suppression to be effective, a balance between the two processes must exist, with the cognitive demand not being so great as to let the monitoring process interrupt the conscious processes.
As recent research suggests there may be an important role of individual differences that may be able to account for this. Although in certain domains, such as memorization, it appears that ironic effects of attempting to remember vary with the level of mental control over mnemonic processing and may be due simply to implementation of ineffective mental strategies.
The phenomenon has been identified through thought suppression
studies in experimental psychology. Social psychologist Daniel Wegner
and his colleagues first studied thought suppression in a laboratory setting in 1987 by instructing participants to avoid all thoughts of a white bear. The typical finding in such experiments is that suppressing thoughts of a white bear causes the frequent return of such thoughts, sometimes even yielding a tendency to obsess about the very thought that is being suppressed. The implications for these findings have since been applied in clinical settings where thought suppression is quite common (e.g., trying not to think of one's problems or other anxiety-producing or depressing thoughts).
Cognitive overload inhibits successful activation of operating processes within the mind. Such overload has been shown to occur experimentally, when individuals attempt to aggressively suppress intrusive thoughts by distracting themselves---either by focusing on different environmental objects, or thinking of anything but the thought in question. (Overload is also believed to occur in daily life as a result of mental pressures, anxieties, stresses and so forth). The monitoring process, serving to alert the individual of an unwanted thought about to become salient and intrude on his or her consciousness, continues to find instances of the unwanted thought creating a state of hyperaccessibility unchecked by controlled cognitive processes. Research has also shown that individuals do have a capacity to successfully suppress thoughts by focusing on specifically prepared distractions or objects---a process in thought suppression
experiments sometimes referred to as "focused distraction" (Wegner, 1987).
"According to Wegner & Pennebaker (1993, p. 1), 'Mental control occurs when people suppress a thought, concentrate on a sensation, inhibit an emotion, maintain a mood, stir up a desire, squelch a craving, or otherwise exert influence on their own mental states.' Thus, intentional memory processes and their associated mnemonic strategies can be viewed as one form of mental control (Kihlstrom & Barnhardt, 1993). Mental control, in the form of mnemonic strategies, is exercised when we attempt to exert influence over our faculties of memory."
tells his cognitive science students, "Don't think of a pink elephant", resulting in his students thinking of exactly this. Ironic process theory is also the basis for the mind game known simply as "The Game
" which constitutes trying not to think about The Game. The theory is also used by the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
to explain the ideas of "inception" in the 2010 film Inception
.
Thought suppression
Thought suppression is the process of deliberately trying to stop thinking about certain thoughts . It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, in which a sufferer will repeatedly attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered around one or more obsessions...
) render those thoughts more persistent.
Mechanisms
Ironic process theory (Wegner, 1992, 1994) has two opposing mechanisms (Dual Process Model of social cognitionSocial cognition
Social cognition is the encoding, storage, retrieval, and processing, in the brain, of information relating to conspecifics, or members of the same species. At one time social cognition referred specifically to an approach to social psychology in which these processes were studied according to the...
): The first unconsciously and automatically monitors for occurrences (monitoring processes) of the unwanted thought, calling upon the second (conscious operating processes) should the thought begin to intrude. This theory explains the effects of increased cognitive load by emphasizing that where there is cognitive effort, the monitoring process may supplant the conscious process, also suggesting that in order for thought suppression to be effective, a balance between the two processes must exist, with the cognitive demand not being so great as to let the monitoring process interrupt the conscious processes.
As recent research suggests there may be an important role of individual differences that may be able to account for this. Although in certain domains, such as memorization, it appears that ironic effects of attempting to remember vary with the level of mental control over mnemonic processing and may be due simply to implementation of ineffective mental strategies.
The phenomenon has been identified through thought suppression
Thought suppression
Thought suppression is the process of deliberately trying to stop thinking about certain thoughts . It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, in which a sufferer will repeatedly attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered around one or more obsessions...
studies in experimental psychology. Social psychologist Daniel Wegner
Daniel Wegner
Daniel M. Wegner is an American social psychologist. He is a professor of psychology at Harvard University and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science...
and his colleagues first studied thought suppression in a laboratory setting in 1987 by instructing participants to avoid all thoughts of a white bear. The typical finding in such experiments is that suppressing thoughts of a white bear causes the frequent return of such thoughts, sometimes even yielding a tendency to obsess about the very thought that is being suppressed. The implications for these findings have since been applied in clinical settings where thought suppression is quite common (e.g., trying not to think of one's problems or other anxiety-producing or depressing thoughts).
Cognitive overload inhibits successful activation of operating processes within the mind. Such overload has been shown to occur experimentally, when individuals attempt to aggressively suppress intrusive thoughts by distracting themselves---either by focusing on different environmental objects, or thinking of anything but the thought in question. (Overload is also believed to occur in daily life as a result of mental pressures, anxieties, stresses and so forth). The monitoring process, serving to alert the individual of an unwanted thought about to become salient and intrude on his or her consciousness, continues to find instances of the unwanted thought creating a state of hyperaccessibility unchecked by controlled cognitive processes. Research has also shown that individuals do have a capacity to successfully suppress thoughts by focusing on specifically prepared distractions or objects---a process in thought suppression
Thought suppression
Thought suppression is the process of deliberately trying to stop thinking about certain thoughts . It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, in which a sufferer will repeatedly attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered around one or more obsessions...
experiments sometimes referred to as "focused distraction" (Wegner, 1987).
"According to Wegner & Pennebaker (1993, p. 1), 'Mental control occurs when people suppress a thought, concentrate on a sensation, inhibit an emotion, maintain a mood, stir up a desire, squelch a craving, or otherwise exert influence on their own mental states.' Thus, intentional memory processes and their associated mnemonic strategies can be viewed as one form of mental control (Kihlstrom & Barnhardt, 1993). Mental control, in the form of mnemonic strategies, is exercised when we attempt to exert influence over our faculties of memory."
Popular culture
Similar ideas appear throughout popular culture and sayings, often with variations on animal and color, such as "It's as hard as trying not to think of a pink rhinoceros". George LakoffGeorge Lakoff
George P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
tells his cognitive science students, "Don't think of a pink elephant", resulting in his students thinking of exactly this. Ironic process theory is also the basis for the mind game known simply as "The Game
The Game (mind game)
The Game is a mental game where the objective is to avoid thinking about The Game itself. Thinking about The Game constitutes a loss, which, according to the rules of The Game, must be announced each time it occurs. It is impossible to win most versions of The Game; players can only attempt to...
" which constitutes trying not to think about The Game. The theory is also used by the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films....
to explain the ideas of "inception" in the 2010 film Inception
Inception
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
.
See also
- Self-fulfilling prophecySelf-fulfilling prophecyA self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Although examples of such prophecies can be found in literature as far back as ancient Greece and...
- Streisand effectStreisand effectThe Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
- The GameThe Game (mind game)The Game is a mental game where the objective is to avoid thinking about The Game itself. Thinking about The Game constitutes a loss, which, according to the rules of The Game, must be announced each time it occurs. It is impossible to win most versions of The Game; players can only attempt to...
Further reading
...- Wegner, D.M., Schneider, D.J., Carter, S.R., & White, T.L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thoughts suppression. Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyJournal of Personality and Social PsychologyThe Journal of Personality and Social Psychology is a monthly psychology journal of the American Psychological Association. It is considered one of the top journals in the fields of social and personality psychology. Its focus is on empirical research reports; however, specialized theoretical,...
, 53, 5–13. Article