Ironic Processing Theory

This 2010 contemporary sci-fi actioner follows a subconscious security team around the globe and into the intimate and infinite world of dreams.
Post Reply
Posts: 264
Joined: February 2011
The theory (IPT) is best explained by the Moses analogy. According to many Abrahamic scriptures pharaoh heard of a prophecy of a man rising from Israelites and empowering his slaves, to avoid this he actively sought babies and had them killed. Little did he know that the very actions meant to eliminate the threat would give rise to Moses who would ultimately steer the Israelites away from subordination and to their independence.

Now, there are formidable memories that each of us has. All of us have thoughts that may evoke fear, shame and regret. What most of us unfortunately do is actively suppress these regretful memories, and try to avoid them from surfacing. This is called: living in denial. According to the IPT, it is exactly our cognitive obsession to supress a thought or memory that leads to the ultimate overthrowal of our cognitive control. For example if i were to ask you to actively suppress yourself from thinking about elephants, what do you think of?

The movie Inception, is ultimately about a man who obsesses over being in complete control. He wants to bury his regret, only he ends up obsessing over it and ultimately being compromised. The trick is to confront the problem rather than obsessing over its abolishment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic_process_theory

Post Reply