In an experiment, students were asked to complete the sentence, "I hope _____ is in a car accident" by inserting a friend's name in the blank space and imagining that the situation had occurred. The finding was that the participants engaged in action to cancel the effects of writing the sentence. This was a demonstration of:
A) thought action fusion.
B) intolerance of uncertainty.
C) obsessions.
D) fear of negative evaluation.
E) positive beliefs about worry.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This experiment is a clear example of thought action fusion, which refers to the belief that having a negative thought or image in one's mind increases the likelihood of that event happening. In this case, the participants may have felt guilty or responsible for the imagined event and engaged in some kind of action to try to prevent it from actually happening.

In an Experiment, Students Were Asked to Complete the Sentence