ABSTRACT
The notion that people have unwanted thoughts that they want to stop dates back to Sigmund Freud’s work in the late 19th century. Since then, further research has suggested that we have poor ability to disregard thoughts and information. For example, studies have shown that juries are influenced by information that the judge has told them to ignore. Likewise, other research suggests that people who try to suppress emotionally difficult events are more likely to suffer later in life from negative psychological and physiological consequences.
