Dispositional and situational determinants of repression.
This research project posits a model of repression that incorporates both repressive personality and repressive social behavior. The 1st parameter of the model specifies the motivation for repressors' distancing of themselves from emotional events. Experiment 1 demonstrates that repressors are hypersensitive--in their cognitive attention--to both negative and positive emotional events. The 2nd parameter of the model specifies the conditions under which repressors distance themselves from emotional events. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrate that repressors psychologically distance themselves when the situation threatens their self-evaluation and provides opportunity for them to attend to and process self-relevant and non-self-relevant information. This 2-factor model extends the current conceptualization of repression in that it identifies motivation (dispositional emotional sensitivity) and context (situational threats to self-evaluation and distraction availability) for repressors' distancing of themselves from negative and positive emotional events.
Mendolia
M
M
Institute of Behavioral Research, University of Georgia, USA. pymm@umsvm]
Moore
J
J
Tesser
A
A
D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011340:Problem Solving; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment