Three studies considered the consequences of writing, talking, and thinking about significant events. In Studies 1 and 2, students wrote, talked into a tape recorder, or thought privately about their worst (N ϭ 96) or happiest experience (N ϭ 111) for 15 min each during 3 consecutive days. In Study 3 (N ϭ 112), students wrote or thought about their happiest day; half systematically analyzed, and half repetitively replayed this day. Well-being and health measures were administered before each study's manipulation and 4 weeks after. As predicted, in Study 1, participants who processed a negative experience through writing or talking reported improved life satisfaction and enhanced mental and physical health relative to those who thought about it. The reverse effect for life satisfaction was observed in Study 2, which focused on positive experiences. Study 3 examined possible mechanisms underlying these effects. Students who wrote about their happiest moments-especially when analyzing them-experienced reduced well-being and physical health relative to those who replayed these moments. Results are discussed in light of current understanding of the effects of processing life events.

Why do some individuals persist in self-destructive rumination? Two studies investigated the relation between a ruminative response style and the reluctance to initiate instrumental behavior. In Study 1, ruminators were compared to nonruminators regarding their evaluation of a self-generated plan to revise their university housing system and, in Study 2, concerning their plan to redesign the undergraduate curriculum. In both studies, on relevant composite measures, ruminators expressed less satisfaction and confidence with regard to their plans than did nonruminators. They were also less likely to commit to the plans they generated. The findings suggest that in addition to its documented detrimental effects on thinking and problem solving, self-focused rumination may inhibit instrumental behavior by increasing uncertainty, resulting in further rumination and behavioral paralysis.

Dissociative experiences and abnormal eating were examined in 92 non‐eating‐disordered women and 61 age‐matched bulimic women. In the non‐clinical sample of women, dissociative experiences were associated with abnormal eating attitudes and behavior, even after controlling for other forms of psychopathology; furthermore, dissociation mediated the relationships between abnormal eating and sexual abuse, abnormal eating and emotional distress, and abnormal eating and impulsivity. Analyses using both bulimic women and occasional binge eaters among the controls showed that a combination of reported negative affect and dissociative experiences preceding a binge was associated with the highest levels of abnormal eating. Finally, in both bulimic women and occasional binge eaters, feelings of panic appeared to decrease as a binge episode progressed, whereas, in bulimic women only, dissociative experiences appeared to increase during binge eating. The implications for the role of dissociation in combination with emotional distress in triggering and reinforcing abnormal eating in women are discussed.

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