SHOULD I TALK OR SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT CHALLENGES? : EXTRAVERSION AS A MODERATING VARIABLE

Abstract

Many researchers have called for more attention to be directed to the identification of conditions under which coping efforts generate positive outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether the effects of talking or writing about academic challenges depend on individuals’ level of extraversion. Using a 10-week longitudinal study that was conducted in a naturalistic setting, participants were randomly assigned to either write about or talk to another participant about their academic challenges for 15 minutes every week. It was hypothesized that introverts would show higher academic self-efficacy in the writing condition than in the talking condition. The reverse was expected for extraverts. Our results indicate a significant interaction between conditions and extraversion in predicting academic self-efficacy in week 10, when baseline self-efficacy and gender were controlled. Consistent with the hypothesis, introverts showed higher academic self-efficacy in the writing condition than in the talking condition. However, extraverts did not show significant differences in academic self-efficacy between the writing and talking conditions. Additional analysis shows that extraverts in the talking condition had higher academic self-efficacy than introverts. These findings lend support to the view that the effectiveness of coping strategies differs based on individuals’ level of extraversion.