ABSTRACT
As this quotation suggests, in this chapter we examine the dispositional or stylistic propensity to shift attention away from undesirable or unpleasant emotions, as well as the possible consequences such a style may hold for mental health and psychotherapy. Taking inspiration from Singer’s lifelong devotion to the integration of clinical theory and basic experimental research, we begin by reviewing the historical progression of ideas inherent in the concepts of hysteria, repression and dissociation, and cognitive style. We then consider Bonanno and Singer’s (1990) integration of various experimental and theoretical literatures in terms of the dialectic tension between the focus of attention inwardly, toward the self and private experience, versus the focus of attention outwardly, away from the self and toward other people and the external nonselfenviron-ment or field. We next consider the operational definitions of health and well-being in terms of the capacity to engage flexibly in both poles of this dialectic, and in the context of this definition, we review recent empirical findings about emotional dissociation, the repressive personality style, and self-deceptive enhancement. We then review some
of our own recent research illustrating the apparent adaptive functions of emotional dissociation and self-deception in the specific context of midlife conjugal bereavement. Finally, we discuss the implications these ideas may hold for the psychotherapeutic process.
