The Benefits of Writing: Health and Productivity

Raymond Mar Jordan B. Peterson

jpeterson@psych.utoronto.ca http://psych.utoronto.ca/~peterson/welcome.htm

Abstract
Current empirical research conducted in both laboratory and real world settin!s has outlined the myriad o" bene"its to narration# !oal settin!# and their combination. $he narration o" trauma has lon! been %nown to in"luence physiolo!ical health and psycholo!ical well bein!. Recent in&esti!ations ha&e shown that e'plicitly describin! one(s ideal "uture yields similar results. )nowled!e o" !oals has also been lin%ed to optimal health both in response to trauma and with re!ards to the daily pursuit o" happiness. *inally# a lar!e body o" in+uiry conducted in the industrial/or!ani,ational realm supports the proposition that !oal settin! results in impro&ed per"ormance across a lar!e number o" domains. $he synthesis o" these separate literatures appears lo!ical and potentially &ery bene"icial "or both personal and pro"essional applications.

Narrated Trauma and Health

. "ascinatin! body o" research# pioneered by James /. Penneba%er in 0123# i has lin%ed speci"ic acts o" structured narration to enhanced mental and physical health. 4tudies o" this e""ect typically employ written output# althou!h &ariations such as &erbal e'pression do e'ist. Participants are as%ed to narrate a traumatic personal e&ent or# in the control condition# a tri&ial topic# durin! 05 to 67 minute sessions. $hese sessions ran!e in "re+uency "rom a sin!le instance to multiple sittin!s spread out o&er a matter o" wee%s. 8urin! each session# indi&iduals are instructed to write continually "or the allotted time# without re!ard "or !rammar or spellin!. 9n conjunction with this manipulation# a number o" health related &ariables are assessed :be!innin! durin! the writin! period and continuin! "or se&eral wee%s a"terwards;. 9ndi&iduals assi!ned to write about a stress"ul occurrence in their own li"e typically mani"est a number o" salutary outcomes with re!ards to health# relati&e to those who narrated non traumatic material. 4uch participants typically pursue "ewer physician consultationsii# e'hibit !reater psycholo!ical health in the lon! termiii and e&en e'perience better immune "unction. i& <ther bene"its include "aster re employment "or recently dismissed pro"essionals# & and hi!her !rade point a&era!es "or students. $hese results appear robust# and ha&e been demonstrated in o&er two do,en studies usin! a number o" populations around the world. &i Recently# the health bene"its o" trauma narration ha&e been replicated usin! a &ery di""erent sort o" content. =arlier this year# >aura )in! &ii e'plored the potential rami"ications o" narratin! li"e !oals and ideals# as opposed to past traumatic e'periences. ."ter readin! a set o" !eneral instructions# 0 a !roup o" participants en!a!ed in a writin! tas%# usin! methods similar to those described pre&iously. 9ndi&iduals in the control condition were as%ed to write about their plans "or the day. $hree wee%s later# those who wrote about their best possible sel&es scored si!ni"icantly hi!her on measures o" psycholo!ical well bein! :which included such concepts as personal happiness and li"e satis"action; than indi&iduals who described tri&ial short term plans. ?ealth records were also obtained and analysed "or all participants. .lthou!h the two !roups did not di""er in a&era!e health care use prior
1

$hin% about your li"e in the "uture. 9ma!ine that e&erythin! has !one as well as it possibly could. @ou ha&e wor%ed hard and succeeded at accomplishin! all o" your li"e !oals. $hin% o" this as the reali,ation o" all o" your li"e dreams. Aow# write about what you ha&e ima!ined.

to the e'periment# in the "i&e months "ollowin! the writin! manipulation# people who wrote about their ideal "uture &isited a health centre "or medical reasons si!ni"icantly less o"ten than those in the control condition. $his study is o" mar%ed importance as it demonstrates that the mere act o" narratin! one(s "uture !oals can mani"est tan!ible and obser&able health bene"its. Pre&ious research clearly supports a relation between !oals and health# albeit in a less direct and dramatic "ashion.

Narrated Future Goals and Health

$he "ormation and pursuit o" !oals can be a &aluable tool in copin! with loss or trauma. *rom a common sense perspecti&e# the importance o" B!ettin! on with one(s li"eC "ollowin! a traumatic incident is necessary "or optimal healin!. *ailure to do so opens a door to depression# moti&ated by the apparent hopelessness o" all acti&ity. =mpirical research has "ound support "or the psycholo!ical bene"its o" "ormin! plans "ollowin! a traumatic loss. 4tein# *ol%man# $rabasso and Richards &iii "ound# "or e'ample# that e'plicated !oals were predicti&e o" adapti&e copin! "or a population o" care!i&ers who had lost their partners to .984. $he "ormation o" "uture and sel" oriented plans was related to better positi&e well bein! at the time o" berea&ement# and better reco&ery a year "ollowin! i'. 4imilar research "indin!s ha&e supported this relationship in or!ani,ational conte'ts# with re!ards to the concept o" job stress. =lo&ainio and )i&imD%i# ' who e'amined a population o" *innish nurses# "ound that the de!ree to which !oals were clearly stated and well comprehended by sta"" moderated the amount o" strain e'perienced indi&idually. $his applied not only to the !oals associated with each job or wor% unit# but to the aims o" the entire or!ani,ation as well. <utcome oriented thin%in! and beha&iour is clearly use"ul in times o" emotional upset. 9t also appears to aid day to day well bein!. Researchers interested in human emotion ha&e "ound that strate!ies such as !oal maintenance and the attainment o" new !oals are o"ten employed in response to happiness# by adults and children.'i 9n "act# !oal strate!ies are used to cope with other emotions as well# includin! sadness# an!er and "ear.'ii )ennon M. 4heldon and >inda ?ouser Mar%o'iii as%ed "irst year students to describe ei!ht "uture !oals# and to rate their reasons "or pursuin! them. $hey "ound that intrinsic identi"ication with the !oal was o" !reat importance# describin! such identi"ication as sel" concordance. 'i&

.ttainment o" internally moti&ated !oals was much more li%ely than attainment o" those "uelled by e'ternal sources. $hese e'trinsic moti&ations are o"ten related to sources o" ne!ati&e emotion such as parental pressure or !uilt. *urthermore# the attainment ad&anta!e "or intrinsic !oals was also sel" rein"orcin!: . hi!h de!ree o" success in the "irst semester o" school led to !reater "eelin!s o" sel" concordanceF this in turn led to relati&ely more success"ul !oal attainment in the second semester. 9ndi&iduals who e'perienced a hi!her le&el o" !oal attainment in the second semester also mani"ested !reater relati&e adjustment and a more satis"yin! sense o" !rowth by the end o" the research period. <ne path to happiness clearly appears to lie in the identi"ication and pursuit o" personally rele&ant !oals.'& $he most stunnin! outcome o" this e'tended study# howe&er# was related to per"ormance. 4cores "or the .merican Colle!e $est :.C$; :re+uired at the Gni&ersity o" Missouri "or all incomin! students; were compared with each student(s "inal !rade point a&era!e :HP.;. 9ndi&iduals in the process o" pursuin! !oals "or sel" concordant reasons had HP.(s hi!her than those predicted by their .C$ scores. Remar%ably# howe&er# the majority o" their !oals were not at all course or !rade related. 9n the words o" the authors: B$his "indin! su!!ests that those people who can identi"y sets o" !oals that well represent their implicit interests and &alues are indeed able to "unction more e""iciently# "le'ibly# and inte!rati&ely across all areas o" their li&esC'&i :emphasis added;. Narrated Goals and Task Performance 8ecades o" empirical research has supported the proposition that settin! !oals and pursuin! them can lead to si!ni"icant impro&ements in tas% per"ormance.
'&ii

$he majority o" this wor% has been e'plored in an industrial/or!ani,ational

conte't. >oc%e and >atham laid the base "or the initial theoretical wor% on the bene"its o" !oal settin!.'&iii $he model they constructed collaborati&ely has "our major tenets: Hoals that are speci"ic and di""icult lead to better per"ormance than &a!ue e'hortations to Bdo your bestC :and# o" course# than no speci"ied !oals whatsoe&er;. $he relationship between !oal di""iculty and per"ormance is linear and positi&e.

<ther "actors such as competition# pro&ision o" "eedbac%# and participation in decision ma%in! do not a""ect per"ormance beyond their "unction in establishin! and adjustin! the commitment to speci"ic and di""icult !oals.

8irection# e""ort and persistence are three primary moti&ational mediators o" the !oal settin!/per"ormance relationship. $as% strate!y constitutes a "ourth# co!niti&e mediator. .bility# commitment# "eedbac%# tas% comple'ity# and situational constraints are all possible moderators o" the !oal settin!/per"ormance relationship. >oc%e and >atham erected their theory on a "oundation o" important

empirical wor%# conducted in real world wor%places and the laboratory. 'i' >atham and )inne'' "ound# "or e'ample# that lo!!in! crews assi!ned a speci"ic and di""icult !oal were si!ni"icantly more producti&e :and had better job attendance; than a similar crew that were merely ur!ed to do their best. 4uch impro&ement remained e&en when wor%ers were paid by the hour# and not on a piecewor% basis. ''i $hese "indin!s also held true in the case o" more abstract occupations# such as research and de&elopment''ii and mana!erial plannin!.''iii >aboratory research has replicated these "indin!s in such basic domains as memory#''i& mathematical ability#''& and reaction time.''&i *urther in&esti!ation re&ealed that participation in !oal settin! clearly bolsters understandin! o" strate!y.''&ii Pham and $aylor ha&e be!un to decompose the process o" !oal attainment :throu!h pro'imal !oals;# and to study its causal structure.''&iii Gni&ersity students were as%ed to ima!ine either the !oal o" doin! well on an upcomin! midterm# or the process re+uired to attain a !ood mar%. *ollowin! this mental simulation# participants wrote down the contents o" their ima!inin!s. 4tudents who en!a!ed in process simulation per"ormed si!ni"icantly better on the test than those who merely ima!ined the positi&e outcome. $his impro&ement appeared to be a conse+uence o" study plan "ormation and e'ecution on the part o" the success"ul !roup# as well as a decrease in e'am related an'iety. .dditional basic research has helped establish that "antasi,in! about a desired "uture :compared to a less &aluable present; helps ta! desired "uture states with positi&e a""ect# mediated as they are by e'pectations o" success. ''i' $he importance o" pro'imal !oals has also been in&esti!ated. $hey appear particularly important in uncertain circumstances# where many &ariables must be considered# and where

lon!er term !oals may ha&e to be constantly e&aluated# in li!ht o" rapidly chan!in! circumstances. 4uccess at pro'imal !oals also seems capable o" enhancin! distal !oal commitment. ''' onclusions Hoal settin! has multiple bene"its. 4uch bene"its do not appear bound by con&entional cate!orical domains# as they encompass psycholo!ical well bein!# physical health# co!niti&e ability and tas% per"ormance. *urthermore# the process by which such !oal settin! e'erts its e""ects appears broadly !enerali,ed. =stablishin! di""icult# speci"ic !oals can "acilitate per"ormance in an unrelated domain :such as academic achie&ement;. >i%ewise# comprehension o" lar!er or!ani,ational !oals :relati&ely remo&ed "rom indi&idual tas% aims; reduces the personal strain su""ered by wor%ers.

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