Socially Shared Emotional Experiences Vs. Emotional Experiences Kept Secret: Differential Characteristics and Consequences

Abstract

Two studies investigated differences between emotional events that are socially shared and those that are kept secret. It was hypothesized that emotional intensity, type of emotion, appraisal, and display differentiate between the two types of events. Also, it was predicted that keeping an emotional memory secret would affect both the amount and the content of related mental rumination. Contrary to the prediction, overall intensity failed to differentiate shared and nonshared events, but qualitative aspects did. Consistent with the hypotheses, nonshared events showed greater shame and guilt, increased appraisal of personal responsibility, and more dissimulation of emotional display. Shared and nonshared memories did not differ in frequency of mental rumination, but nonshared events involved greater search for meaning and efforts to understand what happened. The implications of these results for future research on emotional secrecy and social sharing of emotion are discussed.

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