[3] OCD is when a person will repeatedly (usually unsuccessfully) attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered on one or more obsessions.
[4] Thought suppression is relevant to both mental and behavioral levels, possibly leading to ironic effects that are contrary to intention.
[8] This phenomenon is made paradoxically worse by increasing the amount of distractions a person has, although the experiments in this area can be criticized for using impersonal concurrent tasks, which may or may not properly reflect natural processes or individual differences.
In order for thought suppression and its effectiveness to be studied, researchers have had to find methods of recording the processes going on in the mind.
[9] They asked participants to avoid thinking of a specific target (e.g. a white bear) for five minutes, but if they did, they were told then to ring a bell.
Roemer and Borkovec[10] found that participants who suppressed anxious or depressing thoughts showed a significant rebound effect.
Furthermore, Wenzlaff, Wegner, & Roper[12] demonstrated that anxious or depressed subjects were less likely to suppress negative, unwanted thoughts.
Despite Rassin, Merkelbach and Muris[13] reporting that this finding is moderately robust in the literature, some studies were unable to replicate results.
However, after seven days it was found that repressors experienced more intrusive thoughts regarding those anxious autobiographical events than the other groups, thus demonstrating that repression works for the short run, but is not sustainable.
[8] However, when they were told they were going to meet an individual they had just written about, those in the suppression group sat significantly farther away from the "skinhead" (just by virtue of his clothes being present).
[19] In one study from 1993, when participants were given cognitively demanding concurrent tasks, the results showed a paradoxical higher frequency of target thoughts than controls.
For example, Wenzlaff and Bates found that subjects concentrating on a positive task experienced neither paradoxical effects nor rebound effects—even when challenged with cognitive load.
[7] Wenzlaff and Bates also note that the beneficiality of concentration in their study participants was optimized when the subjects employed positive thoughts.
For example, in 1987 Wegner, Schneider, Carter & White found that a single, pre-determined distracter (e.g., a red Volkswagen) was sufficient to eliminate the paradoxical effect post-testing.
For example, in the white bear experiment, many general distractions in the environment (for instance a lamp, a light bulb, a desk etc.)
Some studies, however, are unable to find this effect for emotional thoughts in hypnotized individuals when one focused distraction is provided.
This iterative process leaves the individual surrounded by retrieval cues, ultimately causing the rebound effect.
Wegner hypothesized that multiple retrieval cues not being forged explains, in part, the effectiveness of focused distraction (i.e., a reduction of mental load).
Experiential avoidance is when an individual attempts to suppress, change, or control unwanted internal experiences (thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, memories, etc.).
[35] Dreams occur mainly during the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and are composed of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations.
There is a difference for individuals who have a higher tendency of suppression; they are more prone to psychopathological responses such as "intrusive thoughts, including depression, anxiety and obsessional thinking".
With the enhancement of a high cognitive load, ironic control theory states thought suppression is more likely to occur and lead to dream rebound.
Recurrence of emotional experiences act as presleep suggestions, ultimately leading to the suppressed thoughts presenting themselves within the dream.