Therapeutic writing and quotes as readiness and problem management techniques

Abstract

Thinking about personal problems may impact studying sessions through the occurrence of intruding thoughts, suppression of these thoughts, and negative mood states. The current research examined the effects of thinking about a problem (problem activation) on studying and subsequent test performance. In addition, the current study explored use of techniques (therapeutic writing and quotes) to help students manage personal stress in order to cognitively prepare for studying sessions. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: (1) problem activation and therapeutic writing, (2) problem activation and therapeutic writing with quotes, (3) problem activation and quotes, (4) problem activation and no technique, or (5) no problem activation and no technique. Participants in the problem activation conditions thought about an unresolved personal problem and those in the technique conditions used a technique to explore their problem before studying. Results indicated that among those who did not use a technique, activating a problem before studying was associated with an increase in task irrelevant thoughts while studying. Moreover, thinking about a highly emotional problem was more detrimental than thinking about a less emotional problem in terms of task irrelevant and problem related intrusions. In regard to the use of therapeutic writing and quotes as study readiness techniques, those who thought about a highly emotional problem and read quotes reported fewer task irrelevant intrusions while studying, whereas those who used therapeutic writing recalled significantly more on the free recall test. The results failed to indicate differences between conditions for the problem outcome measures. It is possible that engaging in a cognitively taxing activity after use of a stress management technique inhibits cognitive restructuring processes, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of the techniques in terms of problem outcomes.