<p><strong>Short answer</strong><br>
<strong><a href="http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2013/013593/overthinking-can-be-detrimental-human-performance" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Over-thinking</a></strong></p>

<p><strong>Background</strong><br>
<strong><a href="https://qz.com/113458/want-to-remember-something-forget-it/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Unconscious recall of information</a></strong> can be more effective than conscious recall of that same information. Disruption of the activity of the <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorsolateral_prefrontal_cortex" rel="nofollow noreferrer">dorsolateral prefrontal cortex</a></strong> (by TMS) improved image-recall in healthy subjects (source: <a href="http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2013/013593/overthinking-can-be-detrimental-human-performance" rel="nofollow noreferrer">UC Santa Barbara</a>). The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with executive functions including working memory and selective attention <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780128001059" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(Lehner <em>et al</em>., 2016)</a>. The effect over paying too much attention in an attempt to remember something has been referred to as <a href="https://qz.com/113458/want-to-remember-something-forget-it/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">over-thinking</a>.</p>

<p><sub><strong>Reference</strong><br>
<strong>-</strong> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780128001059" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lehner <em>et al</em>., <em>Genomics, Circuits, and Pathways in Clinical Neuropsychiatry</em>, 1<sup>st</sup> ed. Elsevier (2016)</a></sub></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-17T20:00:14.130Z
Thanks! I must admit I was hoping for a more interesting term for it!
yathish
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T10:35:55.400Z
Is it the same with [rumination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumination_(psychology))?
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-05-14T09:14:32.623Z
2018-11-17T16:09:16.300Z
2018-11-17T16:09:16.300Z
AliceD
<p>Is there any phrase/term to describe the opposite of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic_process_theory" rel="noreferrer">White Bear principle</a> (also known as ironic process principle)? 
I'm looking for a word to describe the process where something eludes you the more you try to think of it (or remember it). I think I may have come across a term to describe this phenomenon but I'm not sure if such a phrase/term exists.</p>

<memory><terminology><working-memory><long-term-memory>
Opposite of White Bear principle?
yathish
# Opposite of White Bear principle?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-14)

Is there any phrase/term to describe the opposite of [White Bear principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic_process_theory) (also known as ironic process principle)?
I'm looking for a word to describe the process where something eludes you the more you try to think of it (or remember it). I think I may have come across a term to describe this phenomenon but I'm not sure if such a phrase/term exists.

**Tags:** memory, terminology, working-memory, long-term-memory


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-05-14. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

**Short answer**  
**[Over-thinking](http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2013/013593/overthinking-can-be-detrimental-human-performance)**

**Background**  
**[Unconscious recall of information](https://qz.com/113458/want-to-remember-something-forget-it/)** can be more effective than conscious recall of that same information. Disruption of the activity of the **[dorsolateral prefrontal cortex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorsolateral_prefrontal_cortex)** (by TMS) improved image-recall in healthy subjects (source: [UC Santa Barbara](http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2013/013593/overthinking-can-be-detrimental-human-performance)). The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with executive functions including working memory and selective attention [(Lehner *et al*., 2016)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780128001059). The effect over paying too much attention in an attempt to remember something has been referred to as [over-thinking](https://qz.com/113458/want-to-remember-something-forget-it/).

**Reference**  
**-** [Lehner *et al*., *Genomics, Circuits, and Pathways in Clinical Neuropsychiatry*, 1st ed. Elsevier (2016)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780128001059)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks! I must admit I was hoping for a more interesting term for it!  
> **username_2**: Is it the same with [rumination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumination_(psychology))?  

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