White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts

When Wegner instructed participants in a psychology experiment not to think about a white bear, their minds, naturally, filled up with white, furry images. Starting from that simple exercise, this rewarding and informal essay takes a fresh, unconventional look at the ways we deal with unwanted thoughts and relates those mental processes to mood swings, addictions, depression and day-to-day survival. A psychology professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Tex., Wegner finds that the common ploy of using self-distraction to banish undesired thoughts or impulses often offers a ``quick fix'' that only masks an underlying problem. His investigation helps explain why people who return home from detoxification centers or ``fat farms'' often find their self-control efforts sadly short-lived. Propelled by mental exercises and diagrams, the reader is invited to explore the effects of innuendo, willful ignorance, prejudicial belief and obsessions. First serial to Psychology Today. (July)