SAYING NO TO UNWANTED THOUGHTS - SELF-FOCUS AND THE REGULATION OF MENTAL LIFE

Drawing from models of mental control and cognitive self-regulation, i t was hypothesized that heightened self-focus would promote the sponta neous suppression of social stereotypes, Participants who were induced to experience heightened self-focus indeed produced less stereotypic descriptions of social targets (Studies 1-4). Study 5 further demonstr ated that self-focus produced reductions in stereotyping only among th ose participants whose personal standards dictated stereotype avoidanc e. A final study demonstrated that these spontaneous forms of stereoty pe suppression can produce a rebound effect, in which the magnitude of stereotyping increases markedly after a period of suppression. These findings are considered in the context of contemporary issues in menta l control and social stereotyping.