White bear experiment: why pushed fears return.
The white bear experiment found that students told not to think of a white bear kept ringing the bell anyway. Later, when they were allowed to think of it, they thought about it more than others did. So pushing a frightening thought away can feed it.
Inside the white bear experiment.
In a psychology lab, a student had five minutes to say whatever came to mind. However, they had to avoid thinking of a white bear and ring a bell if they did. The bell kept ringing, for that student and for the others too. Then the researchers changed the instructions and allowed thinking about the bear. As a result, the earlier suppressors thought about it more than students allowed from the start.
The rebound found across 31 studies.
Daniel Wegner, David Schneider, Samuel Carter and Teri White published the work in 1987. Wegner suggested suppression might produce "the very obsession or preoccupation that it is directed against." Then, in 2020, Deming Wang, Martin Hagger and Nikos Chatzisarantis pooled 31 studies built on his method. Their finding was clear, because the thought suppression rebound showed up consistently. In short, the thought returns once you stop pushing it away.
Naming the bear that follows you.
Your white bear might be a savings account at zero. It could also be a relative's face when the business closes, or silence after your first price. You have probably tried the obvious cures already. For example, you told yourself not to, kept busy, or waited for a calmer month. However, trying not to think about something is the very instruction the white bear experiment tested.
Run your own white bear experiment tonight.
Write down your own white bear in one plain sentence on paper.
Note which cure you tried, then ask honestly how well it has worked.
Questions about white bear experiment.
What did the white bear experiment show?
Students told to avoid a white bear kept thinking of it. Later, they thought of it more than students allowed to from the start.
Who ran the original study?
Daniel Wegner, David Schneider, Samuel Carter and Teri White published it in 1987 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Does the rebound effect hold up?
Yes. In 2020, a pooled analysis of 31 studies found the rebound showed up consistently.
Read the whole chapter.
This lesson covers one section of chapter 10, “Courage does not delete the fear”. The book goes further, with the full evidence, the stories and every exercise.
Lessons in this chapter.
- 01 White bear experiment: why pushed fears return.
- 02 Fear extinction learning: courage adds a memory.
- 03 Exposure hierarchy for fear: an 8-step sales ladder.
- 04 Fear came back after progress: why rooms matter.
- 05 Fear driven business decisions: freeze or rush.
- 06 Are some people fearless: what bomb experts show.
- 07 Exposure exercise not working: seven fixes.