The Thought Suppression Paradox and Its Intervention in Student Athletes

Guided by the ironic process theory and its extensions, the dissertation research aimed at (a)
studying the thought suppression paradox in student athletes, (b) exploring the efficacy of an
acceptance-mindfulness intervention in decreasing the thought suppression paradox, and (c)
using working memory capacity (WMC) to explain individual differences on the susceptibility to
the thought suppression paradox. A total of 90 NCAA Division I student athletes were recruited
and randomly assigned to three conditions (i.e., suppression, control, and intervention). All the
athletes performed a set of computerized complex span tasks (i.e., operation, reading, and
symmetry span), and then completed a task pair in each of the two thought-control phases (i.e.,
amid, post). The task pair consisted of a thought-monitoring task and a two-color Stroop task.
According to the condition assignment, each athlete applied a strategy for controlling the thought
of a recent athletic failure when performing the task pairs, and his/her EEG was simultaneously
recorded. Results generally supported the existence of thought suppression paradox and the
efficacy of an acceptance-mindfulness intervention in student athletes, although WMC failed to
account for individual differences. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.