Saying no to unwanted thoughts: self-focus and the regulation of mental life.
Drawing from models of mental control and cognitive self-regulation, it was hypothesized that heightened self-focus would promote the spontaneous suppression of social stereotypes. Participants who were induced to experience heightened self-focus indeed produced less stereotypic descriptions of social targets (Studies 1-4). Study 5 further demonstrated that self-focus produced reductions in stereotyping only among those participants whose personal standards dictated stereotype avoidance. A final study demonstrated that these spontaneous forms of stereotype suppression can produce a rebound effect, in which the magnitude of stereotyping increases markedly after a period of suppression. These findings are considered in the context of contemporary issues in mental control and social stereotyping.
Macrae
C N
CN
School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. cnm2@st-andrews.ac.uk
Bodenhausen
G V
GV
Milne
A B
AB
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001364:Awareness; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D011939:Mental Recall; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking