Talking facilitates cognitive-emotional processes of adaptation to an acute stressor

The authors examined the influence of talking and the social context of tal king on cognitive-emotional processes of adjustment to stressors. Two hundr ed fifty-six undergraduates viewed a stressful stimulus and were then assig ned to a no-talk control condition or 1 of 3 talk conditions: talk alone, t alk to a validating confederate, or talk to an invalidating confederate. Tw o days later, they were reexposed to the stressor. Compared with individual s in the no-talk condition, those in the talk alone and validate conditions had a lower level of intrusive thoughts in the 2-day interim, and they had lower perceived stress when reexposed to the stressor. The effects of talk ing and validation on perceived stress appeared to be mediated by lowered i ntrusions. The benefits of talking were diluted when disclosures were inval idated. These findings suggest that talking about acute stressors can facil itate adjustment to stressors through cognitive resolution.