Linguistic Styles of Eminent Writers Suffering From Unipolar and Bipolar Mood Disorder

Abstract

Past research has shown that the styles of drawings by patients with unipolar and bipolar mood disorder differ, the latter expressing more positive and fewer negative emotions (Wadeson, 1980). In the first study presented here, it was expected that prose texts by eminent writers who suffered from unipolar versus bipolar mood disorder would show this same effect. One novel per writer was analyzed, using Pennebaker, Francis, and Booth's (2001) Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Results disconfirmed the hypothesis, but indicated 3 other differences that were then replicated in Study 2, using a second set of novels by the same authors. Results indicated that: (a) Bipolar writers referred to death more than did unipolar writers; (b) unipolar writers referred to people other than themselves more than did control writers; (c) unipolar writers used more words describing cognitive mechanisms (e.g., understand, know) than did both other groups. The fact that the unipolar and bipolar groups did not differ from controls on measures related to emotions and feelings can be partially explained in terms of the therapeutic effect of writing (Pennebaker, 1997). The interest displayed by unipolar writers in cognitive mechanisms is consistent with Verhaeghen, Joorman, and Khan's (2005) finding that rumination mediates the link between creativity and unipolar depression.