The relation between emotion intensity and the voluntary activation of personal memories was investigated in 2 experiments. Two hypotheses were compared: the specificity hypothesis, which states that emotion intensity is positively related to the specificity of personal memories, and the strategic inhibition hypothesis, which postulates that specifying past experiences requires the inhibition of emotion. Study 1 showed that priming a specific (vs. overgeneral) access mode to autobiographical memory results in less emotion during a subsequent mental imagery trial. Study 2 replicated Study 1 with a wider array of emotions and a different method of emotion induction (films). Overall, results support the strategic inhibition hypothesis. The notion of specificity is discussed as well as implications for cognitive theories of emotion and their clinical applications.

Little attention has been paid to the issue of emotional verbalization in people undergoing chronic situations. We addressed this issue in the present study focusing on chronic pain patients. Our study investigated the verbalization of their health-related emotions, as well as the role of interpersonal variables on patients' disclosure, and their relation to their psychological adjustment. Results indicate that chronic pain patients talk more frequently about their illness with their intimates. Yet, the medical staff represents a favored sharing target as it elicits the highest satisfaction degree. Results also reveal that others' social constraint behavior and lack of credibility of sufferers' health status negatively predict patients' psychological adjustment. Therefore, the social environment appears to play a significant part in patients' well-being.

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