Pennebaker The failure to disclose upsetting thoughts or feelings places people at higher risk for physical and mental health problems, whereas being induced to write or talk about these feelings yields improvements in health. This program of research will investigate the psychological mechanisms mediating these effects. Specifically, it will evaluate the degree to which verbally labeling and describing experimentally induced anger and sadness reduces autonomic nervous system activity, as indexed by skin conductance level. It will also evaluate the degree to which verbalizing negative emotions promotes a coherent cognitive organization of upsetting events, as indexed by ratings of the succinctness, coherence, and emotionality of essays written about prior emotional events. In addition to investigating the effects of verbalizing emotions that have been experimentally induced, this research will examine the effects of describing traumatic events that have occured outside of the laboratory, such as a recent job loss. Recent research has demonstrated that when individuals are unable or unwilling to disclose upsetting thoughts or feelings to others, they are at higher risk for physical and mental health difficulties. Conversely, when people are induced to write or talk about upsetting personal experiences, improvements in health are found. This research will determine the psychological mechanisms underlying these effects by investigating the cognitive, physiological, and emotional consequences of translating stressful events into language.
