The Ironic Effects of Trying to Control Attention
Ever wondered about the paradoxical outcomes of attempting to regulate your focus? Dive into the intriguing world of cognitive science as we explore the ironic effects of trying to control attention, a journey that promises to challenge your understanding of human cognition.
Why we often think about exactly what we’re trying not to think about
Trying to control attention often fails, and it can even result in the opposite mental state that was intended
- Mental control is more likely to fail when the mind is overly burdened, such as by stress, time pressure, or fatigue
- The success of mental control often depends on how the goal is framed
- According to the ironic process theory (Wegner, 1994), human mental control fails often and ironically result in what is intended, and hence how we can handle them
Why We Can’t Always Control Our Thoughts
Two mental systems work in tandem when we are trying to think about something or feel a certain way
- An intentional system, which orients our attention to the goal state
- Focusing attention on something sounds like a straightforward task, but it requires a lot of effort
- The second system is a monitoring system, and the only thing it has to do is to sound an alarm
- This monitoring system has an easy job because it doesn’t have to do anything laborious, it simply needs to recognize when a deviation occurs, and then alert the intentional system to work harder
The Solution to Mental Control
Minimize whatever it is that is acting as the mental burden
- Frame the goal in a proactive rather than an avoidant way
- Don’t be so restrictive about what we think, feel, or do – oppression brews rebellion, even in the mind.