Much of mental life, perhaps rather paradoxically, is spent thinking the unthinkable. The desire to consume another chocolate bar, assault an obnoxious neighbor, or date a best friend's partner are the sort of unpalatable thoughts that regularly capture our attention and imagination. While relief can be obtained by exorcising these dark impulses from consciousness (e.g., Freud, 1915/1957), daily experience attest that the resulting calm is relatively short-lived. All too often, with neither consent nor warning, these unwelcome mental specters return to haunt us. The message emerging from contemporary research on thought control confirms this observation. Suppressing unwanted thoughts, beliefs, and desires can be a trying and infuriating business. Banished from mind, these inadmissible cognitions can ironically reappear with a vengeance and vigor that makes them difficult to ignore. As Wegner(1989) soberingly summarizes, 'the effects of thought suppression.. are not usually what we want them to be."
One of the best introductions I've read for the many academic papers I've had to read over my 1 over year in university. I couldn't agree more with this opening, I think this passage will come to follow me for a really long time.
Out of sight, out of mind?
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