Effects of written emotional expression: The role of positive expectancies.

Abstract

Objective: Writing in an emotional way about stressful or traumatic experiences has beneficial effects on emotional well-being and physical health. Yet the mechanisms that underlie these effects still need to be explored. Integrating research on the effects of positive expectancies, the authors suggest that positive effects of written emotional expression may, in part, depend on expectancies induced by writing about emotional experiences. Design: Two studies were conducted to test this hypothesis. In both studies, participants wrote about either an upsetting event or trivial issues. After the writing period, participants rated their expectancies that the writing intervention would improve (or impair) their emotional wellbeing over time. Main Outcome Measures: Study 1 assessed the emotional impact of an upsetting event, whereas Study 2 assessed subjective reports of physical symptoms. In both studies, outcome variables were collected both before and 6 weeks after the writing intervention. Results: The results showed that (a) writing about upsetting experiences induced higher positive expectancies than writing about trivial issues and (b) expectancies associated with written emotional expression were related to a reduction in the emotional impact of an upsetting event (Study 1) and to a reduction in physical symptoms (Study 2). Conclusions: There may be 2 alternative ways to render written emotional expression effective in reducing negative emotions: (a) by rendering an emotional experience more meaningful and (b) by inducing positive affect regulation expectancies.

The invisible reality of arthritis: A qualitative analysis of an online message board

“…Furthermore, communicating via online message boards involves written rather than oral communication. The process of actively writing about one's feelings and emotions has been shown to be benefi cial in terms of emotional well-being (Pennebaker and Beall, 1986;Pennebaker et al, 1990), reductions in self-reported symptoms (Broderick et al, 2005) and improvements in mood (Langens and Schüler, 2007). Exploring the interactions that take place on an online arthritis message board may provide insight into the social support sought and offered, as well as highlighting the group's needs that perhaps are not being brought up or addressed in the more formal and often time-pressured face-to-face interactions held in the clinical setting.…”

Effects of Psychological Interventions on Neuroendocrine Hormone Regulation and Immune Status in HIV-Positive Persons: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Written emotional expression provides an opportunity for individuals to confront traumatic experiences and it may create positive outcome expectancies for emotion regulation (77,78). In a small HAART era RCT, HIV-positive men and women were randomized to 4 sessions of writing about their worst stressful event or writing about trivial daily events (79).…”

Expecting to heal through self-expression: a perceived control theory of writing and health

“…To carry this further, an individual holds expectations about her self-regulation abilities (Langens, 2007;Scheier & Carver, 2003), and so the modulation of emotional responses rests upon a variety of selfefficacy beliefs that may be developed and enriched through writing expressively. If this is the case, then control perceptions are generally relevant to the connection between writing and health, as they dictate what one expects from writing and from one's pursuits in life (for an extended discussion, see Langens & Schü ler, 2007), regardless of what is realistic and/or practical. In order to appreciate how perceived control could fit into a model of writing and health, it is first useful to show how the theoretical problems of the writing paradigm are likely a result of its vast and thus self-fulfilling directions.…”