For several years, social psychologist Daniel M. Wegner has been investigating the inability to control thoughts. Drawing on the most recent breakthroughs in this area of research, this is an illuminating explanation of just how human minds work and of the glimmerings of madness in all people.

Preface (1994)
Preface
1. Mental Control
2. Wellsprings of Suppression
3. The Mental Apparatus
4. Self-Distraction
5. The Remote Control of Thinking
6. The Will to Disbelieve
7. Mood Control
8. Exciting Thoughts
9. Synthetic Obsession
Notes
Index

Daniel M. Wegner, PhD, until his death in 2013, was the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James at Harvard University. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty in 2000, Dr. Wegner was the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. His research was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the National Institute of Mental Health. A 1996-1997 Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Wegner was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a recipient of the William James Fellow Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Donald T. Campbell Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.