Acceso usuarios
Muriel Dumont, Vincent Yzerbyt
The purpose of our theoretical contribution is to demonstrate the relevance of distinguishing between thought suppression and inhibition. The existing literature mistakes one for another, using both those generic terms, and displays some inconsistencies between data that are wrongly considered as resulting from one single process. We propose an analysis presented as a typology of the phenomena related to mental control. The typology includes four categories : phenomena related to « simple suppression », to « strategic suppression », to « inhibition as a result of strategic activation », and to « pure inhibition ». The first and last groups of phenomena are clearly distinct from each other, whereas the intermediate groups are more similar. We review studies on mental control with specific interest in stereotype control. These studies show that consequences differed as a function of the kind of phenomena that was involved. Theoretical and practical implications of such phenomena for social life and stereotype change are also discussed.
