... is quite common for individuals to find that they cannot control the amount they worry (see Eysenck, 1992). Often such individuals try desperately not to worry about something only to find themselves thinking even more about it than they would normally. Wegner (1994) has suggested that these individuals are the victims of ironic processes. Ironic effects occur when you are deliberately trying to do something, and find yourself doing completely the opposite, e.g. staying awake when you desperately want to sleep. They also occur when you are trying not to do something, which you inevitably end up doing, e.g. worrying when trying not to. Ironic processes have been around for a long time, but an explanation for them has recently been proposed by Dan Wegner (1994). Wegner and his colleagues have identified certain conditions which appear to increase the likelihood of ironic effects occurring. Wegner (1994) has argued that when we ...

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