The White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) focuses on failing suppression attempts

Experimental studies have produced evidence to suggest that suppressing unwanted thoughts paradoxically results in even more unwanted thoughts. Therefore, suppression is considered to be an inadequate control strategy. Wegner and Zanakos ( 1994; Journal of Personality, 62, 615–640 ) introduced the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI) as a measure to identify people who chronically tend to suppress unwanted thoughts. However, recent studies suggest that the WBSI does not exclusively measure thought suppression, but also addresses the experience of intrusive thoughts. Hence, the WBSI does not seem to measure suppression per se, but rather failing suppression. Three studies elaborate on this idea. In study 1, factor analysis of 674 non‐clinical WBSI scores is found to support the hypothesis that the WBSI addresses both suppression and intrusion. By and large, study 2 replicates these findings in a clinical sample (N=106). In study 3, an alternative suppression questionnaire is introduced, focusing on suppression and intrusions, but also on successful suppression. It is concluded that the WBSI, and thought suppression research in general, is biased toward failing suppression attempts, and has ignored the possibility of successful suppression. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychometric qualities of the White Bear Suppression Inventory in a Dutch sample of children and adolescents

The White Bear Suppression Inventory [WBSI; Wegner and Zanakos (1994)] was developed to assess the tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts. Most psychometric studies of the WBSI have included healthy students and adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder. There has been increasing interest in thought suppression in children and adolescents, especially after a traumatic event, but little is known about the psychometric properties of the WBSI for children. The aim of this research was to examine the psychometric qualities of the WBSI in a Dutch sample of children and adolescents. Two studies were conducted. First, the WBSI’s factor structure, internal consistency and test-retest stability were examined in a sample of 203 primary school children (9-13 years). Second, the factor structure and content validity were assessed in 89 children and adolescents (8-18 years) who attended the emergency room after a road traffic accident. Results demonstrated that the WBSI items contribute to a single factor measuring the suppression of unwanted thoughts and that the reliability is satisfactory. Associations between the WBSI and PTSD-symptoms demonstrated sufficient content validity. The findings suggest that the WBSI can appropriately be used in child and adolescent samples.     

The tendency to suppress, inhibiting thoughts, and dream rebound

Ironic control theory proposes that suppressing thoughts leads to increased occurrence of the suppressed thought because monitoring for the unwanted thought leads to intrusions. This study investigated the influence of suppressing unwanted thoughts on dream content. One hundred participants who had high or low levels of tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts nominated an intrusive thought, and half of the participants were instructed to suppress that thought for 5 min prior to sleeping. Participants completed a dream diary upon waking, which was subsequently rated by independent raters for dream content. In terms of the 79 participants who reported dreaming, more high suppressors who were instructed to suppress dreamt about the intrusive thought than high suppressors in the control condition. There was no difference between low suppressors in the suppression and control conditions. These results suggest that dream content can be influenced by attempted suppression prior to sleep, and this is particularly apparent in people with a tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts.     

Cognitive control of obsessional thoughts

A defining characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is unsuccessful suppression of unwanted thoughts. Recent evidence of individual differences in ability to control intrusive thoughts may inform our understanding of failures of cognitive control associated with OCD symptomatology. The current study investigated characteristics of cognitive style that are potentially associated with OCD symptoms and may influence response to unwanted thoughts, including perceived ability to control thoughts and tendency to ruminate. Undergraduate students (N = 166) completed self-report measures of OCD symptoms, perceived thought control, and ruminative thinking. They were then presented with a distressing target thought and completed a standard thought suppression paradigm. Correlational results indicated that, controlling for anxiety and depression, OCD symptoms were positively associated with rumination and inversely associated with perceived thought control ability. In addition, OCD symptoms were associated with higher levels of distress and greater spontaneous efforts to suppress the target thought during a baseline period, while perceived thought control ability predicted frequency of target thoughts during suppression. Finally, results of the experimental manipulation confirmed that participants instructed to suppress experienced more intrusions during the recovery period. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.     

The roles of thought suppression and metacognitive beliefs in proneness to auditory verbal hallucinations in a non-clinical sample

In a non-clinical sample (N = 751), we investigated relations among two subscales (self-reported intrusiveness of unwanted thoughts and thought suppression) of the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), metacognitive beliefs, and proneness to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs). Both subscales of the WBSI were found to be related to AVH-proneness and strongly positively related to metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of thoughts. Regression analyses were used to test models of the relations among AVH-proneness and a range of metacognitive beliefs. When the WBSI subscale relating to the self-reported intrusiveness of unwanted thoughts was controlled for, the metacognitive style that was the strongest predictor of AVH-proneness was cognitive self-consciousness. Cognitive confidence and beliefs about the uncontrollability of thoughts were also significant predictors of AVH-proneness. These findings are used to revise existing models of the relations between metacognitive beliefs and AVHs. Implications for the management of AVHs are discussed.     

Attentional interference by threat and post-traumatic stress disorder: The role of thought control strategies

Attentional interference by threat is associated with PTSD, but the mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Attentional interference might be related to increased use of maladaptive thought control strategies, such as suppressing unwanted thoughts (thought suppression) or replacing threatening thoughts with everyday concerns (worry), which increase PTSD risk. Conversely, attentional interference might be associated with reduced use of adaptive strategies, such as talking about threatening thoughts (social control), which decrease PTSD risk. This study tested if thought control strategies mediate the relationship between attentional interference and PTSD. Sixty-one male Vietnam-era veterans completed measures of PTSD symptoms and thought control strategies. Participants also completed a Visual Search Task measuring attentional interference, which required participants to identify a target letter string among a group of threat or neutral words. Attentional interference by threat was related to PTSD symptoms, and mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of attentional interference through thought suppression and worry. Attentional interference was related to re-experiencing and avoidance, but not hyperarousal, symptom clusters. Thought suppression was a unique mediator for re-experiencing, whereas thought suppression and worry both mediated the relationship with avoidance. These results offer evidence for maladaptive thought control strategies as a mechanism linking attentional biases for threat to PTSD.     

Ageing and thought suppression performance: Its relationship with working memory capacity,habitual thought suppression and mindfulness

A study investigated how the ability to suppress thoughts in the laboratory was affected by type of thought suppressed (positive, negative, neutral), participants’ age and working memory capacity (WMC). Linked variables (Use of thought suppression, social desirability, and mindfulness) were measured to assess whether they modified susceptibility to thought intrusion.Younger, middle aged and older adults suppressed three different valenced thoughts in a counterbalanced order for 5-min per thought. Participants then completed a WMC task and questionnaire measures of the linked variables.Valence had no effect on intrusions. WMC was positively related to intrusions; higher WMC corresponded to greater intrusions. Age was negatively related to intrusions; with increasing age intrusions decreased. Hierarchical regression showed only age and backward digit span (WMC) significantly predicted intrusions. The relationship between WMC and intrusions was not moderated by age. WMC and age both independently predict level of intrusion, and no synergistic effect was found.     

Better control with less effort: The advantage of using focused-breathing strategy over focused-distraction strategy on thought suppression

It has been suggested that unwanted thoughts usually intrude during mind wandering due to a shortage of mental resources. However, strategies for suppressing such thoughts have never been examined from a mind wandering perspective. Here, we compare the effectiveness of two types of attention distraction strategies that either redirect users’ attention to their own breathing (focused-breathing strategy, FBS) or to a mental image (focused-distraction strategy, FDS) as related to working memory capacities. Eighty-two undergraduates were randomly assigned into a FBS or FDS group. They completed a concentration task and a thought suppression task, in which mind wandering and thought intrusions were each measured. Our results support the hypothesis that mind wandering is positively correlated to thought intrusions and shows that FBS is more effective than FDS in reducing mind wandering and thought intrusions. Moreover, in contrast to FDS, the effect of FBS is independent of users’ mental resources.     

A comparison of the effects of thought suppression, distraction and concentration

This study compared the effects of suppression, focused-distraction, and concentration on controlling unwanted distressing thoughts, and examined how anxiety levels were associated with the use of each thought-control technique. In the study, college students were told to suppress thoughts about a distressing story, to suppress the same thoughts by focusing on an alternative distraction task, to simply concentrate on that alternative task, or to think about anything without restrictions for 6 minutes. This initial period was followed by a “free-thinking” period to assess the delayed effect of thought-control techniques. The results indicated that focused-distraction and concentration led to fewer intrusions of target thoughts than suppression, and concentration in turn resulted in fewer target intrusions than focused-distraction during the initial period. Participants in the focused-distraction and concentration condition also tended to report lower anxiety during the initial period than those who were told to suppress thoughts.     

Thought suppression and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors

This study proposes and tests a theoretical model suggesting that the propensity to suppress unwanted thoughts is associated with an increased presence and frequency of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB). In the model, propensity to suppress unwanted thoughts is hypothesized to be a cognitive mediator of the relationship between emotional reactivity and SITB, and is expected to be related to the extent to which SITB is initiated to escape from aversive emotions. Results of this cross-sectional study of adolescents (N=87) revealed that the self-reported propensity to suppress unwanted thoughts is associated with the presence and frequency of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Furthermore, thought suppression partially mediates the relationship between emotional reactivity and the frequency of NSSI and suicidal ideation. Finally, adolescents with a higher tendency to suppress unwanted thoughts report engaging in NSSI in order to reduce aversive emotions rather than for social communication. Results are discussed within the framework of the negative reinforcement function of SITB.     

Organization of the Self-Concept and the Suppression of Self-Relevant Thoughts

The rebound effect associated with thought suppression has been found following attempts at suppressing both novel stimuli and stereotypical thoughts. However, research examining the suppression of self-relevant thoughts has been less successful in demonstrating the rebound effect. A potential factor that has not yet been fully explored in research on thought suppression is how different types of distracter thoughts may influence the ability to suppress unwanted thoughts. One type of distracter that people may use while attempting to suppress unwanted self-relevant thoughts is information related to other aspects of their lives. To the extent that these other aspects are more likely to be associated in memory with the unwanted thoughts, rebound should be more likely to occur. Thus, we expected and found that people lower in self-complexity (i.e., those with fewer self-aspects that are more interrelated with one another) revealed greater rebound following thought suppression that involved self-relevant distracting thoughts than did people greater in self-complexity. Implications of these findings for thought suppression, self-complexity, depression, and the experience of affect are discussed.     

Individual differences in self-reported thought control: the role of the repressive coping sytle

The purpose of the present research is to assess differences between repressors and non repressors in some aspects associated with conscious thought control. Thus, Sixty-three Spanish university students with different combinations of trait anxiety and defensiveness completed the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ) and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). Data analysis showed that subjects with low anxiety (repressors and low anxious) reported higher perceived ability to control unpleasant thoughts and less tendency to suppress than did subjects with high anxiety (high anxious and defensive high anxious). Implications of these results are discussed in relation to recent researches that have explored the association between repression and thought suppression.     

Suppressing and focusing on a negative memory in social anxiety: effects on unwanted thoughts and mood

Researchers have hypothesized that thought suppression contributes to the large volume of unwanted thoughts in anxiety disorders. However, comparisons to both non-suppression and non-anxious groups are necessary for studies on thought suppression in high anxiety. Participants completed a series of thought verbalization periods and a social interaction. During one period, participants were randomly assigned to focus upon a negative social memory, suppress it, or think freely while monitoring the memory. Results indicated that thought suppression and focusing caused a greater rise and subsequent decline in unwanted thoughts than monitoring instructions for both high and low social anxiety groups. Importantly, highly socially anxious participants had more unwanted thoughts overall, but did not respond significantly differently to thinking instructions when compared to the less anxious group. Interestingly, highly socially anxious participants did report more thought suppression attempts in their everyday life. They also appeared to benefit by experiencing less shyness after suppression when compared to focusing, a pattern not evident for the low social anxiety group.     

Specificity of measures of thought control

The rebound effect (D. M. Wegner, 1994) essentially involves the persistence of thought when an effort has been made to suppress the cognitive activity. Some of the research in this area has been directed at determining personal factors that predict differential levels of rebound. To this end, measures of thought control have emerged. In the present study the authors examined the properties of 2 measures of thought control: the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ; A. Wells & M. I. Davies, 1994) and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI; D. M. Wegner & S. Zanakos, 1994). Each measure was examined in relation to measures of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and worry, as well as combined factorial structure. Scores generally indicated that items on the Worry and Punishment subscales of the TCQ were highly related to worry and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, whereas scores on the WBSI showed an association between Worry and 1 subscale (Slowness) of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Results of a principal components analysis indicate that, in the aggregate, the items from the TCQ and WBSI form 2 factors: Dysfunctional and Functional Thought Control Strategies. From these data, it appears that the TCQ possesses greater potential to predict performance in rebound experiments and has greater clinical usefulness. Future research directions involving the TCQ are recommended.     

The roles of thought suppression and metacognitive beliefs in proneness to auditory verbal hallucinations in a non-clinical sample

In a non-clinical sample (N = 751), we investigated relations among two subscales (self-reported intrusiveness of unwanted thoughts and thought suppression) of the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI), metacognitive beliefs, and proneness to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs). Both subscales of the WBSI were found to be related to AVH-proneness and strongly positively related to metacognitive beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of thoughts. Regression analyses were used to test models of the relations among AVH-proneness and a range of metacognitive beliefs. When the WBSI subscale relating to the self-reported intrusiveness of unwanted thoughts was controlled for, the metacognitive style that was the strongest predictor of AVH-proneness was cognitive self-consciousness. Cognitive confidence and beliefs about the uncontrollability of thoughts were also significant predictors of AVH-proneness. These findings are used to revise existing models of the relations between metacognitive beliefs and AVHs. Implications for the management of AVHs are discussed.     

Thought suppression,intelligence, and working memory capacity

The importance of individual differences in intelligence and working memory capacity in predicting the ability to intentionally suppress thoughts was investigated. Sixty participants completed a thought suppression task, and measures of working memory capacity (OSPAN), fluid intelligence (Raven's Matrices), and crystallised intelligence (the National Adult Reading Test). As predicted, the results indicated that more effective thought suppression was independently related to higher working memory capacity and greater fluid intelligence, but was unrelated to crystallised intelligence. The findings have theoretical implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying a failure to inhibit unwanted intrusions and clinical implications for disorders involving high levels of intrusive thoughts and memories.     

Thought suppression in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Social cognition research has indicated that attempts to suppress thoughts can lead to a paradoxical increase in the frequency of that thought. This phenomenon has been a central component of cognitive-behavioural models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, research has yet to demonstrate deficient thought suppression ability in OCD patients. We examined whether individuals with OCD (OCs) exhibit a deficit in the ability to suppress thoughts. In Experiment 1, attempted thought suppression led to a paradoxical increase in self-reported thoughts for OCs, but not for nonanxious controls (NACs) or anxious controls (ACs). In order to rule out self-report biases, in Experiment 2 we utilized a lexical decision paradigm that measured priming strength of a target word under thought suppression conditions. Results paralleled those of Experiment 1: OCs showed decreased lexical decision latency of the 'suppressed' thought (thought to reflect either increased priming strength or disrupted processing of nonsuppressed thoughts), thus exhibiting a paradoxical effect of thought suppression. This effect was not seen in NACs or ACs. These findings suggest that deficits in cognitive inhibitory processes may underlie the intrusive, repetitive nature of clinical obsessions.     

Investigation of the indulgence cycles hypothesis of suppression on experimentally induced visual intrusions in dysphoria

Within the thought control literature, Wegner [(1989). White bears and other unwanted thoughts: Suppression, obsession, and the psychology of mental control. New York, NY, USA: Penguin Press.] referred to the combined initial suppression and expression phases of thought control as an indulgence cycle which results in the rebound effect typically observed in suppression studies. According to Ironic Process Theory [Wegner, (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review, 101, 34-52.], this rebound leads to further attempts to suppress that are difficult due to the target thought's hyperaccessibility, resulting in a secondary rebound effect owing to a positive feedback system of indulgence cycles. The current study investigated (i) the effects of repeated suppression and opportunities for expression by using a method to index the frequency, duration, and associated levels of distress of an experimentally induced visual intrusion, and (ii) whether any observed effects were differentially linked to depressive symptomatology in an analogue sample of low and high dysphoric participants. Results supported a secondary rebound effect in those participants most successful at suppressing target intrusions. The findings offer an important extension to the emerging literature on the management of intrusive memories in depression.     

Controlling your mind without ironic consequences: Self-affirmation eliminates rebound effects after thought suppression

Thought suppression can ironically lead to a rebound of unwanted thoughts [Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review, 101, 34-52.]. The present research explored whether self-affirmation may eliminate rebound effects after thought suppression. Participants either suppressed or used stereotypes in an impression formation task. Subsequently, self-affirmation was manipulated by providing participants with positive or neutral personality feedback, and stereotype accessibility was assessed. The results showed that suppression led to a rebound of stereotypic associations among neutral-feedback participants, but not among positive-feedback participants. The authors conclude that self-affirmation enhances the efficiency of mental control.     

Eating Patterns Described by a Group of Treatment Seeking Overweight Women and Normal Weight Women

There has been a good deal of research on thought suppression in clinical and social psychology during the past 15 years. Thought suppression refers to attempts to keep certain thoughts out of consciousness. While the idea promises to shed light on various psychopathological processes, research has in many ways been inconclusive. The main focus of this review is on the relevance of thought suppression for our understanding of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Drawing on the literature the review attempts to point out where research should be heading and to suggest to the clinician what lessons could be learnt.