Thought suppression in spider-fearful and nonfearful individuals.
The authors examined the suppression of spider-related thoughts in spider-fearful (n = 23) and nonfearful (n = 22) individuals. Participants were primed with vivid pictures of spiders and a story about spiders. Next, they were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 conditions: (a) suppression of thoughts associated with the previously presented spider-related stimuli or (b) free expression of any thoughts, including those related to the spider-related stimuli. All participants completed a subsequent free-expression exercise. Results indicated that spider-fearful individuals expressed thoughts about the spider-related stimuli for a longer length of time than did nonfearful individuals, particularly in the suppression condition. Participants in both groups demonstrated a rebound of thoughts associated with the spider-related stimuli following suppression. The authors propose that the priming of feared stimuli makes suppression of fear-related thoughts particularly difficult for fearful individuals, perhaps by activating a state of heightened arousal.
Wenzel
Amy
A
Department of Psychology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks 58202-8380, USA. amy_wenzel@und.nodak.edu
Barth
Tara C
TC
Holt
Craig S
CS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013112:Spiders; D013850:Thinking