Mark's Notebook

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

New York Times Op-Ed

In this op-ed in the New York Times, Timothy D. Wilson, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, argues against our "annual ritual of introspection." His studies show that "too much analysis can confuse people about how they really feel." He shows that people who analyzed their relationships by "gut feeling" predicted the relationship's success better than those who listed specific factors within the relationship. Another study shows that "that when people are depressed, ruminating on their problems makes things worse." A third study showed that "participants who were given an opportunity to do a favor for another person ended up viewing themselves as kind, considerate people," but those who were asked to reflect on the favor did not view themselves as being so kind.

Dr. Wilson has this to say about the kind of debriefing procedure we underwent when we returned from Mississippi:

For years it was believed that emergency workers should undergo a debriefing process to focus on and relive their experiences; the idea was that this would make them feel better and prevent mental health problems down the road. After 9/11, for example, well-meaning counselors flocked to New York to help police officers, firefighters and rescue workers deal with the trauma of what they had seen.

But did it do any good? In an extensive review of the research, a team led by Richard McNally, a clinical psychologist at Harvard, concluded that debriefing procedures have little benefit and might even hurt by interrupting the normal healing process. People often distract themselves from thinking about painful events right after they occur, and this may be better than mentally reliving the events.

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009