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This version was published on May 1, 2008
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 5, 706-718 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167207313732
© 2008 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Busy Perceivers and Ineffective Suppression Goals: A Critical Role for Distracter Thoughts

Darcy A. Reich

Texas Tech University, darcy.reich{at}ttu.edu

Robert D. Mather

Texas Tech University

With limited cognitive resources, suppressing thoughts can be ineffective. The detrimental effects of cognitive load on suppression have typically been attributed to increased accessibility of avoided thoughts. However, little research has examined distracter thoughts and their contribution to these effects. In three studies, participants pursued suppression goals related to social judgments (e.g., avoid negative thoughts about a target's performance) with sufficient or diminished cognitive resources. Compared to suppressors not under cognitive load, suppressors under load drew more negative social inferences when pursuing a negative suppression goal and more positive inferences under a positive suppression goal; load did not similarly disrupt a concentration goal (i.e., focus on positive thoughts). Across studies, load reduced high-quality oppositely valenced distracter thoughts, and these distracter thoughts mediated the detrimental effects of load on social inferences. The discussion focuses on mechanisms underlying the effects of load on suppression, implications, and future directions for research on ironic processes.

Key Words: thought suppression • social inferences • goal pursuit • ironic process theory • self-regulation


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