Patterns of Natural Language Use: Disclosure, Personality, and Social Integration

TLDR

Writing about deep emotions produces benefits across health, achievement, and well‑being. The study develops a computer program that generates a linguistic fingerprint of word use in writing and natural settings to understand how writing yields these benefits. The program analyzes word usage to produce a linguistic fingerprint. Analyses show that specific word‑use patterns predict health, reflect personality styles, and are linked to changes in social interactions and real‑world language use, underscoring the value of computer‑based text analysis for psychological theory.

Abstract

When people write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about an emotionally significant event, numerous benefits in many domains (e.g., health, achievement, and well-being) result. As one step in understanding how writing achieves these effects, we have developed a computer program that provides a “fingerprint” of the words people use in writing or in natural settings. Analyses of text samples indicate that particular patterns of word use predict health and also reflect personality styles. We have also discovered that language use in the laboratory writing paradigm is associated with changes in social interactions and language use in the real world. The implications for using computer-based text analysis programs in the development of psychological theory are discussed.