But what will they say?

In this study, 72 women wrote eight emails over the course of a month discussing one of two topics: (a) non-emotional events (i.e., control condition), or (b) their thoughts and feelings regarding their current romantic relationship. Some of the latter group received feedback on what they had written, whereas others kept their narratives more private. Participants who wrote about their relationships differed from those in the control condition on a variety of dimensions; they used different words (e.g., words related to positive and negative emotions, cognitive mechanisms), they perceived their narratives differently (e.g., more self-disclosing) and they found the experience of participating in the study more valuable. Very few significant differences emerged between the narratives of those who received feedback vs. those who did not. Overall, whether a woman anticipates receiving feedback on her relationship narrative does not appear to have a substantial influence on its content, style or depth of emotional disclosure and processing.