Expressive writing can increase working memory capacity.
The effect of emotional disclosure through expressive writing on available working memory (WM) capacity was examined in 2 semester-long experiments. In the first study, 35 freshmen assigned to write about their thoughts and feelings about coming to college demonstrated larger working memory gains 7 weeks later compared with 36 writers assigned to a trivial topic. Increased use of cause and insight words was associated with greater WM improvements. In the second study, students (n = 34) who wrote about a negative personal experience enjoyed greater WM improvements and declines in intrusive thinking compared with students who wrote about a positive experience (n = 33) or a trivial topic (n = 34). The results are discussed in terms of a model grounded in cognitive and social psychological theory in which expressive writing reduces intrusive and avoidant thinking about a stressful experience, thus freeing WM resources.
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Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695, USA. kitty_klein@ncsu.edu
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001364:Awareness; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013850:Thinking; D014956:Writing