183 Woodman and Davis are with the School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, UK. The Sport Psychologist, 2008, 22, 183-196 © 2008 Human Kinetics, Inc. The Role of Repression in the Incidence of Ironic Errors Tim Woodman and Paul A. Davis Bangor University The role of repression in the incidence of ironic errors was investigated on a golf task. Coping styles of novice golfers were determined using measures of cogni- tive anxiety and physiological arousal. Following baseline putts, participants (n = 58) performed a competition putt with the opportunity to win UK£50 (approx. US$100). Before completing the competition putt participants were instructed to “land the ball on the target, but be particularly careful not to over-shoot the target.” The distance the ball traveled past the hole formed the measure of ironic effects. Probing of the coping style × condition interaction, F(2, 41) = 6.53, p < .005, revealed that only the repressors incurred a significant increase in ironic error for the competition putt. This suggests that the act of repressing anxiety has a detrimental performance effect. When attempting to describe or explain the anxiety-performance relationship in sport, researchers typically refer to the conscious processing hypothesis (Masters, 1992), processing efficiency theory (Eysenck & Calvo, 1992), and cusp catastrophe models (Hardy, 1996), and these theoretical positions continue to attract research attention (e.g., Hardy, Beattie, & Woodman 2007; Mullen, Hardy, & Oldham 2007; Wilson, Smith, & Holmes, 2007). Conversely, the theory of ironic processes of mental control (Wegner, 1989, 1994) has received minimal research attention despite its potential applicability to sport (Janelle, 1999; Woodman & Hardy, 2001). Developed from earlier work by Chevreul (1833), Freud (1915/1957) and Baudouin (1921), Wegner’s (1989, 1994) theory of ironic processes of mental control holds that one dual-control system can result in both intentional and counter-intentional effects. Similar to other dual-functioning control systems of self-regulation (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1990), Wegner’s theory comprises two pro- cesses that work together in attempts to maintain control: These are the operating process and the monitoring process. The intentional operating process searches for mental contents consistent with the desired state or goal; the operating process is consciously guided and effortful. Conversely, the monitoring process searches for signals of failure to achieve the desired state; the monitoring process is usually unconscious, autonomous, and less demanding of mental effort (Wegner, 1994,