Plagued by unwanted thoughts? Try writing them down and throwing the paper away.
A new study finds that this trick works. First, students were asked to write down positive or negative thoughts about their bodies, and half were told to tear up and discard the paper. Then the students were asked to rate their attitudes about their bodies. (click below to read more)
Those who had kept the paper were influenced by what they wrote, but among those who had tossed the page, the written comments had no impact at all. Researchers also found that jotting down one's thoughts and keeping the paper in a pocket was especially influential on subsequent judgments, suggesting that this might be a useful plan for good thoughts.
When researchers asked participants to write their thoughts on a computer and drag the file to the trash, the same effects were seen: People were less influenced by negative thoughts.
"Treating Thoughts as Material Objects Can Increase or Decrease Their Impact on Evaluation," Pablo Briñol, Margarita Gascó, Richard Petty and Javier Horcajo, Psychological Science
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