Motives for the social sharing of an emotional experience (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Review of Social Psychology, 2016
This study aimed to highlight the individual's motives for accepting the social sharing of emotions of a person as well as the motives perceived by the individual for the other's sharing. The 81 participants first retrieved an actual situation from their memory in which they had listened to a person who had experienced a negative or positive emotional episode and, secondly, they freely described these motives. A semantic categorization showed that the motives for accepting a person's social sharing are mainly the desire to provide the narrator with proof of social links and support; the perceived motives for the other's social sharing are mainly a supposed need to vent and to strengthen social links. The discussion makes suggestions for future studies in the field of emotion communication.
Motives for Secondary Social Sharing of Emotions
Psychological Reports, 2008
Sf~mmaq.-This studg provides new evidence of motives of secondary social sharing of emotions. In a retrospecrivc study. 140 female (L%I,g,=29.4 yr., SD= 12.8) and 116 male i.ilag,=29.5 y r. SD= 13.1) participants were asked to recall a recent situa
2014
Social sharing of emotion is a very common long-term consequence of emotional experiences. Despite the fact that it reactivates the emotions associated with the experience, people are prone to talk about the negative events they face. So, why do people share their emotions? From an intrapersonal perspective, a widespread belief exists that verbalising an emotion alleviates the impact of an emotional event. The purpose of our research was to examine whether verbalisation of emotions effectively contributed to the recovery from the emotion. We review the correlative and experimental studies that were conducted to test this hypothesis. They consistently failed to support the view that mere talking about an emotional memory can lower its emotional load. Nevertheless, participants generally reported that they perceived the sharing process as beneficial. The question then remains as to why people share their emotions and report it is a beneficial process, if it does not bring emotional re...
Social Sharing of Emotions - Master's thesis
This research attempted to determine the conditions under which feelings related to a negative event can be alleviated in a social sharing situation. Security in attachment, comfort with touch as well as low interoceptive skills were hypothesized to be beneficial for alleviation of negative feelings with respect to sharing. Two proxies were used for the alleviation of negative feelings: the emotional recovery index and the perceived stress levels. The findings of the study contribute to the previous body of research by confirming that the alleviation of negative feelings cannot be achieved through verbalizing emotions. Out of the three conditions only comfort with touch predicted sharing behaviour to a certain degree. There were also no differences found in the levels of stress between those who shared the event with others and those who did not. Nevertheless, the conditions had an impact on the alleviation of negative feelings beyond the effects of sharing. The interaction effect of both proxies was significant for all the measured conditions. However, after their impact on the conditions was measured separately, only lower sensitivity to bodily sensations and comfort with touch decreased the stress levels. None of the conditions had a significant effect on the emotional recovery levels. Further research in a more controlled setting should examine the relationship between the proxies and all measured conditions with respect to the sharing behaviour.
The Social Sharing of Emotion in Interpersonal and in Collective Situations
Understanding complex systems, 2016
Data showed that emotional episodes nearly universally elicit a need to talk about it with other people in an interpersonal process which has been called "the social sharing of emotion. A very common answer to the question of the motives underlying this need to socially share emotional experiences advocates cathartic effects of the verbal expression of emotion. Lay persons as well as professionals very generally considered that once an emotion is shared, it vanishes. The resulting feeling of relief would motivate people to socially share future emotional experiences. A parallel reasoning is held for emotional expression in collective situations, as happen in commemorations, celebrations, religious ceremonies and other social rituals. It is also predicted that participants in a process of collective emotional expression would experience feelings of relief and an alleviation of the load of the commemorated emotion. The studies to be described in this talk examined whether the prediction that the mere expression of an emotion brings emotional recovery. Both in person to person situations and in situations of collective emotional expression, the cathartic hypothesis was not supported. Yet, very generally, participants in social sharing situations reported important social benefits from their participation. The question of the source of these benefits was then investigated. In addition, we examined under what condition sharing an emotion would bring actual recovery.
Social Sharing of Emotion, Emotional Recovery, and Interpersonal Aspects
Social sharing of emotion is a very common long-term consequence of emotional experiences. Despite the fact that it reactivates the emotions associated with the experience, people are prone to talk about the negative events they face. So, why do people share their emotions? From an intrapersonal perspective, a widespread belief exists that verbalising an emotion alleviates the impact of an emotional event. The purpose of our research was to
Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social outcomes of the social sharing of emotion
Current Opinion in Psychology, 2019
Emotional experiences trigger the social sharing of emotion. This disclosure of emotional facts and feelings to the social surrounding was generally considered as a simple process of emotional release. The empirical data reviewed in this article invalidate this simplistic view. They show that the social sharing of emotions is a complex process that results not only in intrapersonal effects for the source person, but also in important interpersonal and social outcomes. The intrapersonal effects of the social sharing of emotions are varied, they do not necessarily go together, and they respond to specific conditions. At the interpersonal level, both the sharing of positive and negative emotional episodes affects relationships with the audience. Finally, the research highlights broader social effects relating to social structure, social norms, group action, beliefs, collective resilience, and intergroup relations.
Beyond the myth of venting: Social sharing modes determine the benefits of emotional disclosure
European Journal of Social Psychology, 2012
When individuals experience an emotion, they talk about it afterwards. A popular 'emotional venting' belief claims that doing so dissolves the emotional impact. This study tested a model of when and how sharing emotions is beneficial. It predicts that benefits vary according to the listener's response mode. A socio-affective (empathic) mode was expected to buffer emotional distress temporarily. A cognitive (reframing) mode was anticipated to grant emotional recovery. Participants viewed an aversive film and then talked about it with an intimate. The latter was instructed to adopt either cognitive or socio-affective response modes in a 2 Â 2 design (cognitive/non-cognitive; socio-affective/neutral). Emotional, cognitive and social benefits were assessed immediately afterwards and again 2 days later following re-exposure to the film. As predicted, emotional recovery occurred exclusively when the listener stimulated the participant's cognitive work. Cognitive variables (basic assumptions) were also positively modified by these conditions. Listeners' socio-affective responses entailed enhanced social integration (i.e. greater proximity to the listener; less loneliness) and an impression of feeling better. These results demonstrated that sharing emotions can lead to multiple benefits depending upon the listeners' response modes: emotional recovery, consolidation of shattered assumptions, social integration and temporary distress reduction.