Social sharing of emotion, emotional recovery, and interpersonal aspects

Social sharing of emotion is a very common long-term consequence of emotional experiences. Despite the fact that it reactivates the emotions associated with the experience, people are prone to talk about the negative events they face. So, why do people share their emotions? From an intrapersonal perspective, a widespread belief exists that verbalising an emotion alleviates the impact of an emotional event. The purpose of our research was to examine whether verbalisation of emotions effectively contributed to the recovery from the emotion. We review the correlative and experimental studies that were conducted to test this hypothesis. They consistently failed to support the view that mere talking about an emotional memory can lower its emotional load. Nevertheless, participants generally reported that they perceived the sharing process as beneficial. The question then remains as to why people share their emotions and report it is a beneficial process, if it does not bring emotional recovery. To answer this question, we shifted perspective and studied the interpersonal factors implied in the social sharing process. In the following of the chapter, we suggest that the effects of social sharing depend on the social context in which it occurs. We first consider types of sharing partners that are commonly chosen both as a function of age and according to the type of emotional situation experienced. Then, the types of helpful responses from sharing partners are examined. Finally, recent studies on the effects of specific sharing partner’s reactions on affiliation and cognitive benefits are presented. In the conclusion of this chapter, implications of the research on social sharing for the field of emotion regulation are considered