Repress Yourself

In an age of trash talk shows and tell-all memoirs, the merits of repressionare rarely celebrated. That's too bad, says Jane Bybee, Ph.D., who has found that repressors—those who push upsetting thoughts and feelings away from consciousness--are better off than those who let it all hang out.

Bybee, of Northeastern University in Boston, used a personality test to classify high school students as repressors, sensitizers (those especially attuned to internal states), or intermediates. She also assessed how the students saw themselves, and how they were perceived by their teachers. Those identified as repressors were less shy and anxious than the others, were more able to tolerate frustration, and had better social skills and higher grades. They had a greater sense of general self-esteem, and rated themselves more adept at academic tasks and social interactions.

Bybee speculates that the ability to dismiss disturbing or distracting thoughts may make one's focus sharper--hence the higher grades—and one's company more pleasant. "In our day-to-day behavior it may be good to not be so emotional and needy," she notes. "That turns people off." The moods of repressed people may be more balanced, Bybee adds, and they may be less prone to acting out, since they're not at the whim of their emotional impulses.