Nelda Live Ep. 24 | Dr. James Pennebaker | Writing to heal

Your words communicate so much more than just their meaning. According to social psychologist Dr. James Pennebaker, there is important information hidden in the words you use. They can reveal whether you are telling the truth, depressed, or even predict behavior. Having authored nine books and over 300 scientific articles, he is one of the most cited researchers in the field of social science. Beyond direct communication, everyday words are powerful predictors of human behavior, barometers of mental health, and indicators of deception. Internationally recognized researcher, author, and acclaimed professor Dr. James Pennebaker has been studying the correlation between language and human behavior for decades. The words people use on a regular basis can provide subtle clues about who they are and how they think. His research has focused on the relationship between natural language use, health, and social behavior and, most recently, how everyday language reflects basic social and personality processes. Pennebaker’s research finds that simple words such as pronouns and articles can indicate age, gender, social status, personality traits, deception, and predict aggressive behavior. This information has practical applications for recuperative psychological therapy or measuring the effectiveness of teaching methods. Fueled by his findings, he developed an innovative computerized text analysis program. It has been used to forecast behaviors including the intentions of public figures. His work even has a high rate of predicting which couples will align after speed dating. As a pioneer of expressive writing therapy, Pennebaker’s research has uncovered links between written language use and recovery from trauma. He shares how expressive writing can help reevaluate sources of grief and trauma to put you on the path toward a positive life correction and achieve closure. What you’ll learn What is Social Psychology and how he became interested in it (00:32) Discovering the mind and body connection (02:43) The immune response phenomenon (05:26) Difference between journaling and expressive writing (07:21) Expressive writing is not venting (09:49) His philosophy that people are sometimes their own best therapists (12:39) How to get started with expressive writing (17:23) Why expressive writing works (20:57) His optimism about the younger generations (24:25) How COVID-19 has forced new teaching methods (28:08) Why learning and college should be lifelong (29:13) His new research—Expressive Interviewing (40:24) Learn more about James Pennebaker: https://nelda.tv/james-pennebaker/ Connect with Nelda: https://nelda.com   / neldasueyaw     / neldasyaw     / neldasueyaw   Learn more from James Pennebaker: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psycho...