The Psychological Benefits of Positively-Focused Writing

Abstract

Writing about potent positive events has been shown to be associated with physical health benefits in a manner similar to the expressive writing paradigm originally espoused by Pennebaker and Beall (1986). Little has been done to date, however, to explore the potential association of positive writing with aspects of psychological well-being. This project attempted to substantiate results of previous studies that have shown positive writing to be linked with not only the promotion of physical health, but indicators of psychological health such as life satisfaction and positive affect. Participants answered questions regarding their affect, life satisfaction, perceived stress, and physical symptoms in the prior week. They then wrote about either an extremely positive life event or a neutral topic. Participants completed the same questionnaires online a week later. While the writing exercise impacted momentary positive affect, it showed no effect on physical or psychological well-being after one week.