Why Does Coping Require Disclosure?
The Emotional Broadcaster Theory
DAILY TALKING FOLLOWING THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE AND THE PERSIAN GULF WAR
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Pennebaker & Harber, 1993
Intra-Personal Reasons to Disclose
Schachter Anxiety and Affiliation Studiesa. Clarify causes of distressb. Validate one's own reactions
Sympathetic Listening as Social Supporta. Making sense of Traumab. Perspective c. Insightd. Belongingness, acceptance
Failure to Disclose can be a Health Risk
a. Prolonged suppression → chronic stress.b. Disclosure reduces illness.
The Emotional Broadcaster Theory
Proximal need to disclose Intra-psychic benefits
Distal result of disclosure Information transfer
PARADOX OF NEED TO DISCLOSE
INJURY REMEDY
Cut finger Blood coagulatesInfection Immune responseToo hot, too cold Sweating, ShiveringForeign object Coughing, tearing, sneezing
Upset psyche Talk to someone
Well-Told Disclosures are the Most Therapeutic
Disclosures that create “movies” in listeners minds predict success in therapy (Bucci, 1997)
Disclosures with best narrative structure advance illness recovery (Harber & Pennebaker, 1992)
Disclosures Benefit Listeners
Testimony therapy (Agger & Jensen 1990)
Gossip is informative (Baumeister et al., 2004)
RATES OF TALKING IN SAN FRANCISCO FOLLOWING THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE
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The Compulsion to Disclose
Disclosure Follows Major Events
People Disclose With Minimal Prompting
PEOPLE DISCLOSE EVEN AFTER PROMISING NOT TO
(IF DISCLOSURE NEED IS UNMET)
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Harber & Pennebaker, in prep
Disclosures Can Occur Unconsciously
Ekman & Friesen, 1969
Ekman & Friesen, 1969
Disclosures Can Occur Unconsciously
People disclose against self-interest (Pennebaker, 1990)
The desire to disclose is ancient
The desire to disclose is cross-cultural (Rimé,1995)
PERSONAL NEWS IS WIDELY BROADCASTED
Disclose copiously after major events Disclose with minimal prompting Disclose when asked not to do so Disclose unconsciously Disclose against self-interest Disclosure is cross-cultural Disclosure is ancient
Emotions Propel Disclosures“The Social Telegraph”
The Morgue Study
Harber, K.D & Cohen, D., Jou. Language and Soc. Psych, 2005Participants: 33 undergrads (55% female)
Event: Field trip to UM hospital morgue
Self-reported reactions: 3 days after morgue visit
Story tracking exercise
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Marlow (M) told 3
Ilana (F) told 2
Deb (F) told 0
Max (M) told 1
Gabe (M) told 0
Andrea (F) told 1
Hannah (F ) 624-8324 told 1
Maja (F ) 873-2345 told 0
Lew (M) 927-8743 told 1
Primary Sharing
Secondary Sharing
Tertiary Sharing
Story Sharing Following Morgue Field Trip
Primary Sharing
(Sharing by students)
(n = 33)
Secondary Sharing
(Sharing by students’ Friends)
(n = 32)
Tertiary Sharing
(Sharing by students’ Friends’ Friends)
(n = 27)
Number/rate of sharing 32.00 (97%) 27.00 (82%) 16.00 (48%)
Mean contacts per sharer 6.21 (4.06) 1.46 (1.21) 1.26 ( 1.20)
Total no. contacts this level 205 299 377
Total hearing about event: ≈ 881
Students’ Emotional Reactions and Story Sharing
Primary Sharing
(Sharing by students)
(n = 33)
Secondary Sharing
(Sharing by students’ Friends)
(n = 32)
Tertiary Sharing
(Sharing by students’ Friends’ Friends)
(n = 26)
Students’ reactions .73** .24 .46*
Students’ disclosures .56** .61**
Note: Students’ disclosures represent proxy index of emotional reaction.
My Meeting with a Robot: Diego San Study
http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/8/3852098/first-video-of-ucsd-robot-baby
Violation of Expectations and
Story Travel
Misfortune Vignettes Study(Harber, in prep)
Sample n = 403, 67% female, age = 19.63
“Stories of Misfortune”Teller Upset
Story Unusual
Hal breaks a small desk lamp he bought on sale at K-Mart.No No
Your friend feels very strongly about someone, and plans to propose they move in together. Unexpectedly, this person tells your friend "I think we should cool things off”.
Yes No
Diane finds her window broken and a note tied to a rock. The note says, "Hey Didi, remember me?" She hasn't been called Didi since high school, 5 yrs. ago and 200 miles away.
Yes Yes
Racing to her spa, Jane almost hits a small boy, who is left shaking. A cop stops her, but by flirting Jane gets only a warning. She says she often gets away with stuff like this.
No Yes
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People you toldwould tell
Teller OK, Story Common(broken lamp)Teller Upset, Story Common(romance ends)Teller OK, Story Uncommon(reckless driver, no ticket)Teller Upset, Story Uncommon(Didi and the rock)
Anticipated Sharing of Misfortune Stories, Due to Teller Distress and Story Unusualness
Emotional Broadcaster and History of ViolenceHarber, K.D., & Podolski, P. (in prep)
Disclosures should follow events that violate expectations.
Violent events violate expectations of a just, well-ordered world.
EXCEPT, perhaps, for people who have experienced much violence, aka who have a "history of violence" (HOV)
Predict that HOV will determine whether exposure to violence:
1. Emotionally affects people
2. Motivates them to disclose events to others
3. Affects expectation that their stories will be repeated
Study DesignSample: n = 72, age = 20.71 (3.46), women = 52.70%
Participants completed survey packet including:
1. History of Violence
2. Reactions to Events
3. Individual Difference Measures
a. Differentiation of Emotions
b. Need for Certainty (tolerance for ambiguity)
c. Hope
d. Optimism
e. Social Support Opinions
f. General Background Questions
Reaction to Events How much would
this affect you? Need to Tell
Others? People you Tell
Would Tell Others?
1. Guns fired
2. Drug deals
3. Someone getting beat up
4. Someone getting stabbed
5. Someone getting shot
6. Gangs in your neighborhood
7. Some pull a gun on another
8. People talk about having weapons
9. People with guns/knives near your home
10. People threaten to beat up/hurt someone
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17. Your car/home windows have been smashed
You see/hear:
Results: Affect and HOV
Affected Tell Others HOV
Others Would Tell
Affected .76** .69** -.53**
Tell others .90** -.47**
Others tell -.29*
* = p < .05 ** = P < .01
Results: Individual Difference and HOV Affected Tell Others HOV
Others Would Tell
Diff. of Emotions -.02 .26* .22+ -.03
Need for Certainty .39** .39** .36** -.24*
Hope .07 .14 .22+ .20
Optimism .01 .20+ .14 -.08
Directive Supporter .07 .20+ .33** .10
Nondirective Supporter .20 .32** .29* -.11
+ = p <.10 * = p < .05 ** = P < .01
Discrepancy Theories of Emotion and TraumaEmotions arise from schema violationsEmotions alert us when schemas (beliefs) and experience (facts) conflictEmotions stay active until schemas and experience difference is resolvedTraumas arise when fundamental beliefs are violated by experience
World is well-orderedWorld is justSelf is good, competent, worthy
Changing fundamental beliefs very hard, people resist doing so
Victim blaming, traumatic amnesia, emotional dissociation
Listeners don't want to hear stories that offend their own basic beliefs.Trauma victims in compound double bind: internal and external
resistance to revealing trauma.
Writing and Traumatic Recovery
Writing about negative events may boost morale. How so?
Active coping
Purposeful activity Improved self-image Psychologically and socially safe
Does Writing Actually Heal Traumatic Memory?
Rimé: No, it doesn't. Ss write/don't write about trauma. X days later return, asked to think about trauma, then rate how upsetting it is to recall trauma. No differences between expt. groups.
This being so, what good is writing?
Harber & Pennebaker: No claims about the potency of intentionally-recovered memories. Instead, focus on their ability to spontaneously intrude.
Real question: Does writing reduce thought intrusions?
Yes -- Klein & Boals, 2001. Expressive writing reduces intrusions.
Diego San
Klien & Boals
Disclosure and Victim blaming
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