Benefits of expressive writing and expressive talking about life goals

Become more optimistic by imagining a best possible self: Effects of a two week intervention

“…In previous studies (Harrist, Carlozzi, McGovern, & Harrist, 2007;Peters et al, 2010) effects of BPS imagery were not moderated by dispositional optimism. These findings are counterintuitive since it is reasonable to expect that people who are low in optimism benefit more from an optimism induction as compared to people high in optimism, mainly because of their larger potential to gain in optimism.…”

Manipulating optimism: Can imagining a best possible self be used to increase positive future expectancies?

“…Finally, we explored whether the effects of the BPS manipulation on expectancies for the future and on mood are moderated by trait optimism, neuroticism or extraversion. Previously, it was found that writing about a BPS was equally effective in reducing health care visits in optimists and pessimists (Harrist et al, 2007). Therefore, we expected that the impact of the BPS manipulation on expectancies for the future and mood would not be dependent on the participants' a priori level of optimism.…”

“…In the original version of this manipulation, participants wrote for 20 min on 4 consecutive days about a future in which they imagine themselves in the best possible condition and circumstances. The BPS manipulation was found effective in increasing PA, well-being and physical health (Austenfeld, Paolo, & Stanton, 2006;Harrist, Carlozzi, McGovern, & Harrist, 2007;King, 2001;Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). These studies did not specifically assess the potential of the BPS manipulation to induce positive expectancies, although preliminary evidence for an effect on optimism was provided by King (2001).…”

Expressive Talking Among Caregivers of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Survivors: Acceptability and Concurrent Subjective, Objective, and Physiologic Indicators of Emotion

“…Little attention has been paid to the effects of speaking. Utilizing a 2 (mode: writing, talking) × 2 (topic: life goals, daily schedule) design, Harrist and colleagues (2007) found a main effect of topic, such that expressions about life goals were more beneficial than were expressions about daily schedule, regardless of mode. In addition, participants randomly assigned to talk rated their post-disclosure mood as less negative than those randomly assigned to write.…”

“…With few exceptions (Esterling, Antoni, Fletcher, Margulies, & Schneiderman, 1994; Harrist, Carlozzi, McGovern, & Harrist, 2007; Pennebaker, et al, 1989), experimental disclosure studies have utilized writing as the mode of expression. Little attention has been paid to the effects of speaking.…”