← Giant Brain Candy
Giant Brain Candy: Don’t Think of a White Bear. Told not to think of a white bear for five minutes, people couldn’t keep it out. When later asked to think of it, they thought of it more than people asked to think of it from the start. Source: The white bear experiment.
Strong evidenceThe research
  1. Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., III, & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13.
  2. Abramowitz, J. S., Tolin, D. F., & Street, G. P. (2001). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression: A meta-analysis of controlled studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(5), 683–703.

Journey 4 · Acceptance

Don’t Think of a White Bear

Told not to think of a white bear for five minutes, people couldn’t keep it out. When later asked to think of it, they thought of it more than people asked to think of it from the start.

Source: The white bear experiment · Strong evidence

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