Mindaffect labellingKids · Adults

Giving a Feeling a Name Can Make It Smaller

Scientists found that putting a feeling into words was linked to a calmer brain, even before anything about the situation changed.

Study title: Giving a Feeling a Name Can Make It Smaller — Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M., Psychological Science, 2007

Study type: Experimental study
Population: Adults viewing emotional face photographs (findings widely applied to children in developmental guidance)
Published: 2007
Evidence confidence: Moderate confidence

The short version

Putting a feeling into words, instead of just having it swirl around inside you, is linked to that feeling calming down a bit.

Why it matters

Saying what you feel, in words, may turn down the volume on the feeling itself — not just describe it.

The question

Does putting a feeling into words change how loudly the brain's 'alarm' area reacts to it?

How it was studied

People looked at photos of faces showing feelings like anger or fear. Sometimes they picked a word for the feeling, sometimes they didn't. Scientists used a brain scanner to see what happened.

What they found

When people put the feeling into words, the brain's alarm area (the amygdala) calmed down more than when they just looked at the feeling without naming it.

Limitations

This study was done with adults looking at photos, not children in real situations, and the group tested was small. It tells us something is likely true, but not exactly how it works for every child in every moment.

What it may mean

Saying what you feel, in words, may turn down the volume on the feeling itself — not just describe it.

In real life

This is why saying 'I'm nervous about the spelling test' can feel a bit better than just having a big, fuzzy, worried feeling with no name. The feeling is still there, but it's not as loud.

Try this

Next time you feel a big feeling, try finishing this sentence out loud or on paper: 'Right now I feel ___ because ___.'

Evidence confidence

Moderate confidence

This comes from one well-known experiment with adults, later supported by other studies, but it wasn't run specifically on children, so we apply it here as reasonable, well-supported guidance rather than a child-specific finding.

Source

Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Giving a Feeling a Name Can Make It Smaller. Psychological Science.

Peer-reviewed · Free full text available · Last reviewed 2026-08-15

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One study isn't the whole storyOne study gives us a piece of the picture. Selfey looks for patterns across the broader evidence rather than treating a single finding as a rule.

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Selfey research briefs are educational summaries, not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Research describes patterns across groups; it cannot tell you what is right for your situation.

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