Special Section
Transcrição
Special Section
.c" :-- PSYCHOLO(j!Co\L ~ -"', =-0.-"-0."- __0 ~-"--;;;' SC1E:-'-CE Special Section WHEN THE ANTillOTE Ironic IS Mental Control Daniel M. Uni\Oersiry Abstract-The both ,he own mental theory most states process (u produce u de.l'ired lIre ing .\.re.l.s. the very gain urgem-y. control thut thus olle'.\" Processes Wegner of Virginia , improvemem he or she third o~er monitoring rhut except ,-\Irhough the or other those Ian mentuL process. load. An indi\'idual dur- of rhe Inoni- operator. mental The theory our desires -"lystem producing to 's attempts the Ilnl..oanred third one our probably has the trouble. At time. It seems abstain ing. from And might perfectly by which summon. it stands mentally remedy the C:1nes. after ~imple dr:ci-"lion wildly out our problem :lll. by our ro mental malai:>e nero 1994) into indicates st:1ned with even a white bear Trying not 3uch thoughtS how be tnle-that any own undoing. Under may not fail only precisely can make to think person to achieve the alcohol innocently in som.: out most desired undesired funny engaged m~e us \n what way. tor of anvthing other ~oves. ° mm. d The ironv ~xactlv m:lk.:s ci!!are'nes what may ~I~o the seed:> ot m~nt~l ItS c~ntrol b~t C".m lromC:llIy to be happy us anxious. our next to be J progr:lm tr:'I.ng not dn~ ;~ ot ~e.t- the mo-"lt undesirabl~ and ,mok~ the monitoring process. ~d unimpaired. thi~ i:> only tar more ~tfective c:lpacity it consume:>. tivitv Ho~ever. time ,t:lnS. alcohol efficiency-the operating in , " v se~h, Memal to D:lniel :\1. Wegner. -;De;:=enllJt '~ddress correspondence .0" V""90'..'I' Ps:cholog., b nngtomlnunw -° d Gilmer H:lli. University of Vlrgln!:l. Ch:lrlottes~.Ile. A --.), e m:ll .This theorv its ability control Copyright that and tor how- thoughts of When the cues. into. consciou.'ine$s 1 again ! me~ to think .:igarette thoughtS out is that in providing it incre=~ of the need~d the :lCcessibility of In the case of the smoke-ender. all becom.: ;IS th~ o~r.lting problem. given Th.: operating the Iu.~ury the tonn may the produced or other slight or dis[r:1ction:>. impJinn.:nt be overt:lk~n \vtth is se,n3I- by the monuor. :>~S3. of proce~~tng by the monl~~r- the prooduc~ cea:>es. but work:> ~~ ted conte n [s . has been tested in several proces~ or the processmog overwhelms contentS highlighted proce:;-"1 is he:1lthy against are:lS of mental of ItS 1[S~lf to control. and . VOL 148 process succeed. to keep .:onsciousness then not only ciga- e,~~nd:> of the an3es-in proce:>s likely interplay :>0 it usually to till to produce about ~[eanwhil.:. them and :l.'ihtrays intoxication. moni- the cyclic thoughts. mental when memalload pressure. for time. control. a small unit environmental however. A3 long and is s~hes well thl: pe~on Ovl:r than the monitor to coumerimentional might it bring.~ and tobacco b; -"10. tor the person of an o~rating proc~~~-Jnd of mental opfor ~rson to :>leep. the unconsciously and thoughts. and the in turn. that are smoke-free. a :>moke. mind-. when for example. :>I::lfChes of the monitor. for the failure ing process [email protected]. ~~ch in tits pro- to stop thinking :>trategy memories than monirorino~ ;1.'i a f~edback in the tonn proce~s the that is when process. i~ trying into thought~ en~ounters by to create the intended state of mind. 0 o. for Instance. the monuor looks tor Thi:> re-"ltart-"l th~ oper.lting 1989). TryIng ob-"les:>ed with m~nitor and view. process :>tate of of fatigue -"lmoking. effort bv :>canninlZ t W~gner. i:; jus~ an ironic distrdctors together who distrdctors. person the memal we do manage in this intended tor monitoring person monitoring ci2arettes search .:ontJin:> ?f ~ind. th; the about gen~r:1lldea 3tate of mind. 3eems .u~ ever. for ,proc~:>.::> in other ..vords. states th~ I'::ld control operating or for signs The conscious lookinlZ not to think de:;ire to be rel:L~~d .:an m:lke can But (.'ollrrol (\~ eg-Th. backfire. IS control.::m ~xplicit control condition3. Des- that \.Tc:-.lte-"lit that the more at mental cert:lin us sad. uying of it. It turns to the look in the hopt:-"I of quitting launch to ..~a.-. an antldot~ of IIlt'IItul is overanxIous A\."Cordmg that it is difficult thi~ is one.:> attempt considerable thought the use of memal about happen. to m~ght hop.: with function The perversion of and un interruptible. The men[:1j .:omrol by se:IfChing a thought. two pr~esses control. that a _person tryln~ pe~on mental the to-be-suppressed thought. In the case of uying tor looks for :>i\!ns of waketuln.::>s. The cruel and silZnOllin" a failure -= In the case of thought :>uppression. mental d~nk- this interruptible content., rette3 about that the :lfChitecture intentionaL might to go to sleep. mental to C:ln "om~"m~~. pro(.°I!Sst'S observation when we ~ontrol in our po~er. mInd, 0, This. proce-"ls to suppress tI~e thoughts. poi-"lon on irIJni(.' the to think what problem less imended etfortful. the consistent this trying In a lot ot w.:11 trom \~ho teels absol~tely our the very conducted work cre:lte are content, ~xample. is trying can not to t~mk a ~rson sad control or .:omrol-turning R~search that w: instance. that avoiding to and of is accomplished. effonful. rh3n the ~uggestS whatever control conscious. -, max~m~. Jt two or that J depre.o;sed thoughtS try we achieve Mental ortates ~- by trying to reason r:lther it :>ee~-"I :0 g~t peopl~ for psychological THEORY because of tWO processes-an .' I. 1 P I D Is,.ourse un o./ "110u. -.0 In) -"I~rve-"l ~ver:'on~ begin to rela.~. processes happen interaction to thc persu:l...ion thOlI. hi:> conVIction sensible. might myself my,;clf ~topped but of course. 30 ourselves. alcohol too. try have -"lound of truth. and of ironic can ro O1bsolulely in our power, Desc:lnes should :>ome level. thoughtS. accustom . -Rene Descarte:> alw3Ys to conquer there is nolhing the very to overcome, PROCESS (..ess is unconscious. ~r.lting thatproces., promotes and in ~ener:ll. create so hard IRONIC rhe Inonitorin,~ uperatin~ ofrhe precipitate m:l.~im wns to endeavor our own thoughts. unwittingly ,..ilL process to remedy, of the world. may is working operating colltellrs mental ~Iv POISON: (.'onrenrs rhut si,l,'naL cl jaiL- is least desirecL may intended an intentional vf Inindl, to actn'ure can supersede of mind mental rhev, ~vere just time on mind state .\'tate functions distra(..ion. effects tnentaL 1t1,ld,\" rhut ro control Inl!IItaL and (In ironic .\'eurr.'h jor cmrrrf,1 ofatre!npts .\°earclt jcJr IJjolnind) rhe de.lired usualLv tor.s .\.ate I!ffecrs """0 processe,\": effiJrrjul autotnari(.. ro produce prfICI!SSI!.l° "fIIlI!IIral de.lired (ICCnle frflm c:on.l°(.iou.l'. un(.'onscious. process lifirll/ric Ilnd rhe leust THE @ 1997 .~eric:ln Psychologic:ll S.xiety S. NO, 3. ~IAY 1997 , , PSYCHOLOGiCAL i-~;.,',-- SCiE;'-;CE :::;; Daniel M. Wegner the gene.ral P~d!ction has been substantiated repeatedly. Intended ~.ou~~t ~~ppre~slon under mental toad creates exaggerated cognitive accessibility ot the suppressed IhOU2ht (We2ner & Erber 199"). intended concentratIon under load Incre:lSesthe ;lCcessibility of distractors (Wegner. 1997: Zukier & Hag.e~..1978); intended mood conttol under load leads to greate~ accesslb~llty of thoughts relevant to the unwanted mood. and to self-repons ot mood opposite the one intended (Wegner. Erber. & Z:1nako~. 1993): intended relaxation under load promotes arou~al (Wegner. Broome. & Blumberg. 19971: intended sleep under load produces w:lkefulness (Ansfield. Wegner. & Bowser. 1996): intended forgetting under load yields remembering (;\Ila~"r:le. Bodenhausen. Milne. & Ford. in press): intended immobiliz:ltion of a handheld pendulum under load incre:lSes movement in the counterintentionai direction: and intended :lvoidance of ov.:rshooting :l golf putt under load induces just such overs hots (Wegner. Ansfield. & Pilloff. 1997). These discoveries of ironic effects of mental control \!ive the decided impression of slapstick-(Jf human toibles that th';art our best intentions in ways r:mging from comic to tragic. The faCt that these ironic errors do not al~ay; happen, however. ~uggeststhat such tind- " ducing mental contents that are not panic related. The findine that people with panic disorder are especially prone to attacks whe~ they q rlow 1987) ' .. h h. Irv to relax (Adler K ~~,. ke & By. IS consistent Wit t IS possibility. Perhaps a variety of conditions may be accompanied by the pronenes.'i to ironic effect'l predicted by such a self-loading ironic mechanism. Evidence in support of this idea comes from studies finding hil!h levels of cognitive accessibility for problem-relevant thou2hts i~ se~er.ll disorders. Stroop interference ,tudies :lnd ,imilar ;"ises~ment'i have found magnified :lccessibility or anxiety-related thoughts in anxiety disorder:\ (Logan & Goetsch, 1993). of depre~sion-related thoughts in depression (Gotlib & McCann. 1984). and of food- and body-related thoughL'i in e".lting di);Orders(Cooper & Fairburn. 1992). Attempts to ~xplain ,uch :lclivation have tocu~ed on the possibility that people come to rehe:JI'.ie,uch thoughts repeatedly, but there is little evidence for this (Williams. Mathews. & Macleod. 1996). It makes sense instead that people who have these problems might be trying to conttol them mentally. and that in so doing. they are ~n~ hancing the aCtivity of ironic monitoring processes that bring these issues intrUsively back to mind (W~gner & Zanakos. 1994). ings signal potential pathways toward the effective conttol of mind. To begin with. they indicate that mental control must be :lpproached with C:lre (if the antidote is to be curative. it mu.'it be uscl under TREA ThIENT Il\IIPLICA . TIONS conditions that t I do h not ld :1llow be it to turn d hinto the poison) _I I -..'. C~tt:1inlv ..How could such psychopathol02ies be treated.! Bevond the reducm Wh ent-101!con h .ro s ou not exerte w en ment... 0 IS present. ., d.. d I ' d ...non In cogmnve load or stress su!!2ested bv the theory's most !!eneral en t e In tVI ua IS un er stress or IS oth~rwlse dIstracted. the provIsion. there :lre several other possible :lvenues. The use ot para~l-too-common co.nsequence of mental conttol will be IronICe.rror. It doxical therapies (e.g.. Shoh:lm-Salomon & Ro~enthal. 1987) might ISworth remembe~ng. then. tha~:lttempts to manage ,;~ss. :lvold nm.: help to revise or rescind a client's commitment to mental control in pr.ess~re.and engineer our ~nvlronments t~. reduce their load on our the first place. and thereby put the brakes on ironic etfects. Advice thinking :lre not mere luxun~~ th~~make lite ~.L'il~ror more pleasu.r- suggesting that people think their unwanted thoughts. dwell on their :lble. but m:lY well be necesslttes It we hope to :lchleve my success In worries. concentrate on thoU2hts or food while thev diet. or the like. m~ntal conttol. m:lY undo the problem by u~doing the control. This strategy could A recognition of the d:lnger of mental load is p:1rticul:lrly apropos sometimes be difficult. though. as m:lny clients could bring ye:lrs of tor the self-control efforts or individuals whose depres.,;.:dmood. phar- praCtice and striving toward mental conttol with them to therapy, md macologically induced mental load. or stressful life circumstance so tind the recommendation that they drop their quest particularly might ~nsure that my attempt at mental conttol would precipitate hard to embrace, New means tor inducing people to relinquish their immediate ironic failure. But the danger also holds in m:my C:lSeS :lttempts at mental control could be useful in this reg:lrd. when the :lppropriate operating process is a difficult one that might be A related \vay in which this theory suggests p~ychother.lpeutic ~:L'iiiy disrupted by ~ven mod~r.lte distr.lctions. Some forms of ment:ll : possibiliti~s i~ through re~.:arch on ironic proc~~s.:~in ,.:~recy. As it control are just so difticult that mo~t people simply do not have the happen~. keeping one., problem~ ,ecret from others involves the use I mental capacity to p.:rtorm th.:m. The suggestion to :lvoid ment:1l or mental control. and this mental control itself C:ln cre:lte ironies. control under load. then. extends to the related ide:l that one should People who keep secret.. in the laboratory or in everyday lite comselect one.s mental control effons c:lrefully. '.picking one.s tights.' to monly become preoccupied with them. because the exercise of secret bypass those that :lre simply beyond one's :1bility. It m:lY be child's keeping introduces automatic monitoring of the ~cret thoughts. beplay to stop thinking of a traffic ticket one received e:lrlier in the day. haviors. or emotions that C:1nyield ironic errors under mental load I i I I fo.r example. w~ere:lS it could be bey~n~ one's abilit). to k~p thoughts (e.g:. Lane ~ W'e~ner. ~995). Psychopathological. th~u.ghts .:lnd ~ot :l loved one s recent death out ot mind. havlors are otten hIdden trom other people. ;md the indIvidual s desIre Ultimately. though. it seems that people do choose to engage in to maintain such secrecy can thus :lct to perpctuate the occurrence of mental control when they should not. and it is instrUctive to co~ider the very thoughts and behaviors that "JIebeing hidden. Th.:rapies that the lik.:ly outcome of this choice. Elsewhere. I (Wegner. 1994) have encourage the disclosure of personal thoughts or memories to the ,uggested that such ill-:1dvised projects could cre:lte psychopathology therapii;t or to others more generally might gain th~ir effectiveness. in through .I.elf-loading ironic .I~s(ems,cycles of ~x:1c:rbalion in which part. by rele:lSing the individual trom ironic processes that otherwise th.: person.s failing mental control strategy le:1ds to :l decrement in are stimulated by the cloak of secrecy (Wegner & LIne. 1995), mental capacity. which then yields continued tailure or m.:nul conAnother tack to therapy suggested by this theory involves :1ttempts troi. It i.s easy to ima~ine how :1,person who tri.:s :0 :lvoid ,:1p~ic I to enhanc: ~heeffici:ncy of the oper.lting proce~s invok~d in p~ic.u:lttack. tor Instance. might over nme and re?",atcl att:lcks SpIral Into l Iar cases ot mental \;ontrol. Wnen peopl: choo~e .poor str.1tegl~ tor such preoccupation with panic that the m~nulload of thinking :1bout mental co~trol. or ~hen they hav~ had ll~e p~tl.ce ~d so pertortn the problem itself undermines :my operating processes :1lmcl :It prothem haltIngly. theIr chances ot producing ITOnlC effects become I 149 VOL 8. NO.3. MAY 1997 "... "'."iIWI," PSr.CHOLOGICAL SCIE~CE Ironic Men[al Con[rol greater. ~ I[ .., could be automanzlng th th em e true themselves. that therapeutic certain 'd ann ores I - re2imens contro I peop The ability be something I menta e d eslre . h ar h w to stop smoking that is acquired aimed - srrucrurin2 and Id k h . rec nlques cou serve ro ma e c:n r tlrst ey I e to host on whatever may 1982). There IS I po ' s. ecu It as a thc:rapy .'1 :;eems ~ucceed \l.hc:n such control &. Bowser. R. ([99(11. Ironic &. F",rj)um. words in CG. p:l1ienlS (I~_). with .::sling Selective disorden ~tfecls of sleep urgency. . processln~ ;md or ui~el5. e:llln~. Bnl;th weigh!. JII~rnal :Ind .h:ipe C/ini- "f ibilily:lnd depression:,o\ne":lmi- n:IIion of ~gnilive.:Ind :lffcctive f~tol5. J"urnal "f P,n'J"ali/:,' anti S'JCiaiPs:-'4" .1:7-+-,9. !.;me.J.D,. & Wegner. D,.\1.(1995). The cognitiveconsequences of '=y. J"urnal 'If P"rsIJ"ali/:,'and S",'ial Pt,'chl'I,,'1.'"/59.~7-~3. wg:m. A.C. & GlJels.:h. V.L. (IWJ). Allemion to .:.'tem:ll thle:l! "ues ill anxiety ,Iale'. Clinical Pn','h,,/,,'1" R"\'i~,,.,IJ. 5.11-559, rh ear. D..\1.. cal Ps:-'chn/IJt'., 31. 363-365. S Ible .. c implications might Wegner. Gotlib. I.H.. & McC:Inn.C.D. (19&01.). Consuua ~c W:1.'iedible and ~Imply tall ro mention the thmgs that practice \1J.. re!:lted £reat are hundreds of instances in daily life when practice helps with minor -..,-.Ir'J/'J~.\". forms of mental conrro~-as wh~n peo~l~ learn t~ compil~enr the were nor-~o '. . nd ,...1 M.E.. Belra,.i'JurRe,t~arclrand TI.erap" 3~ 5"1-531 ., .' .-, Cooper. ect or ro diet. tor example. with practice (Schachrer. Ansfield. en- rh' a t rh e ..OC" IroniC for the development pr e:;:; th e of psychorherapy. orv .:1.'\. h .s ral eve Macr:le. of Yet more are C.:-I.. =ollection: BoIJenhOlu,= G. v.. im.:ntion:ll The ~liJne. A.B,. toreerrinl! & ofFord. R.L 'te~typlC:IJ (in presSI.memones. On the IegU!:I1ion J"urnal "f P,nIJnali/:,"anti SiJCiaiP.-:-"Cho/a~.". -- suggested by Shoharn and Rohrbaugh (this issue). The most difficult part of applying this theory to ther.lpy. it turns out. is determining Schachter.S. (!98:). ReciWv15m:lnd",If-.:= ,-.h"h,~isl.]7, .l3~. which way to go. Is a particular case of mental control one that is so ho peless that it-:maIy.ss. should be abandoned. and therapeutic ~tfOI1Sshould be Shoham-Si1Jomon. Y.. &., Rosenlh:l\. R. ([~87). P:1r:IdoxiC:IJ i.mcrventions: A mc\:l. J"urnal "f Consullln'1 anti ChlllCaiPn,,'h,,/o~'. -,$. lZ-:8. ." aimed at helping the client to get ca:;e one in which mental control off this merry-go-round? Or is this might be achieved if ir were done in just the right way or with enough trequency'! These questions deserve further research. as there must be a wav to discern !!eneral rules that " ,.'. ..~ could help In making these decIsions In mdIvlduai ca:;es and even across broad syndromes. people do attempt succeed wondert'ully rn the me;mrime. ir :;eems certain that when to conrrol their minds. at ~ome times they will and make themselves happy that they have this W':2ncr. -anti D,M. Ih~ (19~9\. ps:-'Chol,,~.v \VlIII~ 'If ""an m~nlal and ,,(her c"nl"". Wegner. D,.\1. (1994\. Ironic proc= of .moking md Obesity,Aln~rican Ps.\"- UI"'.anl,,ti :-Iew Yortc: (h"uyhls: Viking. Suppr'sslon. "",teSSlan. "f menl:li control. Ps:-'Chlllo~icai R~vir\v. 10/. 34-52. W.:gncr. D.i\1: (1'197\. Why lhe mind w:lndm. In J.~..C~h.:n.& J.\V. S"hooler (Eds.). S,.,"'r(fI'.appnJlJ,.h,..(n"'H/.tCI"IU"~SSlpp.:9:1--,I;)).Hall...bI...:-IJ:ErIb-olum. Wel:nc:r.D.."'.. An'ili.:ld. ~1..& Pillolf. D. I 1'197).TIr~phil anti Ill, p'"duillm: I"",i".. "f -'hOl11r c:oI"nJLL;npubli,;/ledm:lnuocnpr.Univ.:",iIY01 Virgini:L Ch:u-loltesvillc:. W.:gn.:r. D.~1,.Broome. A.. & B[umbe~. SJ. (1997). !ronic ''If,,ctS of trying to n:t:sx undc:r'Ino.', 8ehari".,r R"t..arch anti TIr'mp.v. 3$, 11-:1. fine human ability.'. Ar other times. thev will fail. and descend into an ironic ~elf-defearing cycle of ~elf-heJp gonc: awry, W.:gner. &. Erber.R. hyper:ICcessibility of ,upptess.:dthoughts.J'lur"alD.M.. ofP,n"nah,,' anti(IW2). Stx-/olThe Ptvchlll'Jl(v. 63, 903-91:. W':1!ner.D,.M..Erber.~.. & ~os. S. \ IW3;. Ironic processc:s in thc:m.:nl:l\ conlrol of , '" -, In p:Irt by.,auona I I nAcknowledgments--Thls re:;e:lrch was $Upport= ' _I He:l Ith G r:lnt ,v ' IH '91 " 7 ,lllute 0t.'".v,ent", .neb:1ker -mOOti mu mOOti-n:laled thought.Journal -if Pen"'la/i/:,' and S"",ol Ps:-'ch'J/o~.V. 6$. 1093-110.1. -. W.:gner. D..\1.. Ed & LIne. £" J.D. \[99,), From secrecy10psychop:l1holo~. [n J.W. P.:n. I ., . 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