“Strike while the iron is hot”: Increased arousal anticipates unmet needs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Through observational analysis, the present study examined the temporal relationship between the verbalization of unmet existential needs and levels of expressed emotional arousal. Participants were 39 undergraduate students with self-critical tendencies who completed an emotion-focused two-chair intervention for self-criticism during which they enacted their inner critic. Participants were subsequently guided to verbally address their inner critic at two distinct timepoints: (1) an initial reaction and (2) a primed reaction that was preceded by a written priming task intended to facilitate assertive anger and the verbalization of unmet existential needs. Two groups were identified: (a) participants who verbalized an unmet existential need during the primed reaction (n = 24), and (b) participants who did not verbalize an unmet need during the primed reaction (n = 15). Results showed a significant interaction whereby the change in expressed arousal from the initial to primed reaction depended on whether participants expressed an unmet need during the primed reaction (ηp 2 = .12). Findings suggest that moderate levels of expressed arousal may precede the articulation of unmet needs.