Don't think about it: Why Suppressing Thoughts Backfires

Have you ever tried not to think about something — only to find it taking over your mind?

In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the White Bear Suppression Study — research by psychologist Daniel Wegner investigating what happens when we deliberately try to push certain thoughts out of our minds. We look at why attempts to control our thoughts can sometimes have the opposite effect.

But why can trying not to think about something make it even harder to let go? Discover what thought suppression reveals about the limits of mental control, and how our efforts to avoid certain thoughts can shape what stays on our minds.

Studies and links

• The White Bear Story | Daniel Wegner and David Schneider | Psychological Inquiry 2003 vol 14 no 3&4 326-329
• Ironic Process Theory & The White Bear Experiment | Simply Psychology