In their research, the scientists explore the link between the use of emotion vocabulary in natural speech and individual differences in mood, personality, and physical and emotional well-being. The team analyzed essays written by over 1,500 college students and public blogs written by more than 35,000 individuals. The results show that people who use a broader range of positive emotion words tend to have better physical and emotional health, while people who use a broader range of negative emotion words tend to experience more psychological distress and poorer physical health. These findings suggest that the use of emotion vocabulary is linked to lived experiences and may have important clinical implications.
The study's results highlight the importance of analyzing language use as a predictor of psychological well-being. By examining natural speech in large samples of participants, researchers can gain insights into how people communicate and how their language use reflects their emotional states. The findings suggest that individuals who have a richer emotion vocabulary may have better health outcomes, providing a promising avenue for future research and clinical interventions.
Read the research: Natural emotion vocabularies as windows on distress and well-being
