Towards a Theory of Writing Apprehension: an Exposition of Neurotic Writers

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Walther

Jenna Walther

Dr. Elliot

REVISION OF THEORY PAPER

October 24, 2013

Towards a Theory of Writing Apprehension: An Exposition of Neurotic Writers

It is possible for a person to be apprehensive when composing a theory paper using research about neuroticism, writing apprehension, and writers block: continuously editing, constantly deleting, or staring at a blank document past the deadline; worrying about sounding sophisticated and evaluation of intelligence. “The odd thing is that though writer’s block is a familiar, even popular notion, it is one of the least studied dysfunctions of the composing process” (Rose 1). Limited theory exists for writing apprehension; additionally, studies and research about writing anxiety, is a narrow scope with a limited amount of information. “A small body of literature exists for a phenomenon related to writer’s block: writing apprehension or anxiety” (Rose 3). Neuroticism, a broad domain of the Big Five personality traits, can help explain the anxiety and fear someone may have during the writing process; fear of being evaluated or judged, anxiety about the rules of composition, and fallacious thoughts about what makes writing “sophisticated”. Writing is an affective and cognitive process. Cognition can influence the affective, while the affective can influence cognition, if it is believed that attitudes can be changed or molded from experience. Perhaps, better techniques can be offered in academic settings to stifle the apprehension that so many writers, professional or student, face. In Writer’s Block: The Cognitive Dimension, Mike Rose unfolds how apprehensiveness can lead to blocking (high blockers contrasted with low-blockers) and the integral role cognition plays in the writing process: from the planning strategies, to the rigid rules of composition, editing too early, and misleading assumptions so many people use in their writing. “Writer’s block, then, can be defined as an inability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than a lack of basic skill or commitment…but since blocking is a composing process dysfunction that is related to skill in complex, not simple, ways, some high-blockers might eventually produce quality papers” (Rose 3). An important question lies within writing apprehension: Does a personality trait, such as neuroticism, have a relationship with writing anxiety? If so, than it gives a reasonable explanation as to why students may have low writing and testing scores. This paper attempts to give theoretical framework to how people with neurotic traits link to writing apprehension, or what will be called a theory of “neurotic writers”.

Background ofthe Big Five personality dimensions

The Big Five personality dimensions were developed through a scientific, nomothetic, and lexical approach, among a long history of research. “One starting place for a shared taxonomy is the natural language of personality description” (Oliver, Norman, and Soto 117). In other words, how one uses language to describe his or her attributes can extrapolate categories where majorities of people use common, synonymous descriptors of their personality. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientious, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience are the five broad terms that make up The Big Five; each category having its own intricate traits to which it corresponds. Oliver and Srivastana, in “The Big-Five Trait Taxonomy: History, Measurement, and Theoretical Perspectives”, explains further, “the Big Five structure does not imply that personality differences can be reduced to only five traits. Rather, these five dimensions represent personality at the broadest level of abstraction, and each dimension summarizes a large number of distinct, more specific personality characteristics” (105).

There are exceptions and limitations in every type of study. There are unlimited amounts of descriptive words once could use to describe aspects of their personalities. Nomenclature of other cultures must be taken into consideration as well; and it is currently being studied. This paper will focus on the personality trait of neuroticism and how it affects writing.

Accounting for phenomena in the social world

Since the early philosophers (e.g. Ancient Greek), have found Neuroticism (emotional instability) be common trait in people. Neuroticism seems to have the most negative effect on a person’s attitudes and self-concept. As the world evolved in to societies focused on academia and intellect, cognition was altered and the affective domain was impacted.

Cognitive and the affective factors and their impact cannot be mutually exclusive. Cognition is gaining knowledge through action, thought, senses, and experiences. Affective relates to emotions and attitudes; these elements act as a seesaw. The Big Five is an ontological consideration. As humans, we are born with certain temperaments and attitudes. One may be able to alter an attitude with experience, cognition, and maturity. Cognition is epistemological (we gain knowledge through experience), however, people do not come into the world as a blank slate, but with genes and traits. Basic tendencies of person come from biological considerations and direct our actions (how we react, make choices, and so on). Experiences can alter self- conception; external influences can impede upon attitudes, forcing one to adapt or maladapt, but the main traits and basic tendencies still exist and lie within the individual. Maturity and growth occur in increments, but it is not until the next challenging situation that basic tendencies kick in all over again. The individual must then go through another “growth spurt” and realign/readjust their basic tendencies.

Universal typology for the phenomenon of writing apprehension

The traits linked with Neuroticism are: anxiety, angry hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsivity, and vulnerability. When a person inherits neurotic tendencies, they are already subject and sensitive to external influences (causal pathways) defined by the nature and descriptive lexical terms of the trait itself. The trait of neuroticism is a key ingredient to the phenomenon of writing apprehension, writing anxiety, “writer’s block”, or simply, the fear of writing. “The term writing apprehension was coined by Daly and Miller (1975). It refers to a situation and subject specific individual difference associated with a person’s tendencies to approach or avoid situations perceived to potentially require writing accompanied by some amount of perceived evaluation” (Daly and Wilson 327).

By time students are in the education system, they bring their own personality traits and basic tendencies. They either adapt or become maladapted to schooling. Their self-concept and characteristic adaptions are triggered by neurotic tendencies. Their emotional reactions to external influences affect their self-concept. Maturity in cognition, through experience, can offset or set-off basic tendencies (neuroticism) in their work and ability in an academic setting, depending upon external influences (such as a teacher or deadlines), their self-concept, and attitudes.

In the example of the “neurotic writer” the basic tendency is to be anxious, whether the assignment makes him or her nervous or fearful of the evaluation for his attempt at writing; the writer finds it difficult to start or complete the task at hand based upon strategy and rules of composition; or the writer lacks the confidence or has self doubt about one’s knowledge and ability. Depending upon the attitude a writer has about writing will influence completion of the assignment or giving up and not complete it.

The teacher may or may not be harsh grading the assignment, but with feedback, a student and teacher can see where the problem exists. Many teachers use affective explanations when a capable student is struggling with writing (“He or she is too hard on themselves”). Rather than looking for purely an affective explanation, one must consider personality traits and the best way to readjust basic tendencies. Many people are writing apprehensive; neuroticism is the missing link in studies and research. Using the resources in this paper, people may be able to target “neurotic writers” and make corrective adjustments to pedagogy and curriculum to discover new ways to teach composition; the rules, organization of information, evaluation, and other complex concepts by measuring neuroticism and writing apprehension.

Gaining insight due to typology

The Big Five taxonomy acts as a frameworkfor use in research to outline possible reasons for human traits and, further, attitudes. The questions in the Big Factor Inventory allow a researcher to rate and scale points accumulated by a subject to find specific personality traits; in other words, the BFI allows measurement of neuroticism. The adoption of The Big Five into quantitative and qualitative research, via empirical measurement, has offered evidence about how personality dimensions influence cognitive and affective components. Having neurotic personality traitsexhibits attitudinal values found within apprehensive writers.

The Daly-Miller testis a valid instrument that measures writing apprehension, or social phenomena, using a questionnaire of 26 items and scaling answers. In 1975, Michael Miller and John A Daly founded the writing apprehension test. They found that students with negative writing experiences become apprehension and have a tendency to procrastinate and avoid writing. The questions reflect the attitudes a person has towards writing, which portrays components of their personality. A person who has a fear of writing is more likely to suffer from low confidence, negative self-concept, procrastination, stress, nervousness, and depression.

A study which yields insight about the classification of the apprehensive writer is Lynn Bloom’s “The Composing Processes of Anxious and Non-Anxious Writers: A Naturalistic Study”. Bloom classifiesthe difference between how anxious and non-anxious college students compose their writing. Bloom explains common problems she found in her naturalistic case study (from her abstract):

“Some of the common problems were the lack of structured writing times, procrastination, and distractions. The writers who overcame their problems often needed help only to organize their writing tasks into discrete steps or to budget their time properly. Such case studies are theoretically and pedagogically useful to writing teachers, because they can show discrepancies between writers' perceptions of their effectiveness and their actual performances throughout their writing processes. When teachers record naturalistic observations of writers at work, they invite self-evaluation by anxious writers to modify work habits and streamline the writing process. In this way, students' writing apprehensions decrease, and some of them learn to enjoy writing”.

Bloom used the Daly-Miller Test to measure writing apprehension in the students. She observed the students, both anxious and non-anxious, in writing workshops to reduce writing anxiety. She found that most non-anxious writers have more efficient patterns in their writing than anxious writers. Non-anxious writers write with purpose, organization, and time management, with control of their behavior. The Daly-Miller test is an important and vital tool in gaining insight to this typology.

Rose comments on the work of Bloom in his book:

“Bloom finds that some of her anxious writers are, in fact, good writers and do not necessarily steer clear of courses and majors that involve writing. Like their less skilled but equally anxious peers, however, they evince certain misconceptions (e.g., That others write better and with more ease than they do) and characteristics (e.g., perfectionism, procrastination). Non-anxious writers, on the other hand, tend to be realistic in their assessment of their writing and efficient in the management of their time” (Rose 15).

Many researchers believe that writing apprehensive students would make career choices that avoid writing, but this is not always the case. Neurotic writers may not be apprehensive about all writing, but rather, certain topics that may trigger anxiety, or the complexity of the writing. Other influence that may trigger frustration and anxiety is what the teacher expects, their own value judgment of their writing, or judging the value of the assignment.

A sequence of proclivities of the apprehensive writer

The proclivities of a person or student can be highly influenced by personality affecting cognitive, intrapersonal,and interpersonal domains.Cognition is how a student commands the modes of discourse (EDNA), rules of composition, strategy and organization of the task at hand. The intrapersonal domain involves a student’s work ethic, attitude, and view of his or her self. The interpersonal domain involves group work, evaluation, audience, collaboration, and the external influences of a task.

There are two outliers of neuroticism: perfectionism and low confidence. Perfectionism is the inability to continue writing due to doubting the skills and the quality of the product. Low confidence is the inability to start writing due to self-doubt or low self esteem in which no matter what is produced, it is not quality. Symptoms of the negative impacts neuroticism causes are what Martinez, et. al., refers to as non-starters, noncompleters, and nonexhibitors in their article “Pain and Pleasure in Short Essay Writing: Factors Predicting University Students’ Writing Anxiety and Writing Self-Efficacy”;

“Through an examination of case studies, Barwick (1995) found that those with writing anxiety could be classified into three categories: non-starters, noncompleters, and nonexhibitors. Nonstarters avoid anxiety stemming from loss or rejection and demonstrate denial, self-idealization, and criticism. Noncompleters repress their aggressive impulses to avoid feeling loss or rejection. Nonexhibitors repair the pain of loss through intellectualization or obsession in taking apart and re-creating essays” (352).

Nonstarters and noncompleters match the category of low confidence neuroticism, due to their lack of self-esteem and self-efficacy. Nonexhibitors match the category of perfectionism, which can lead to compulsive behaviors in trying to perfect one’s writing by doubting the quality of their product.

These issues affect the cognitive domain since the writers may not feel that they have the strategies or knowledge to combat certain compositional skills or modes of discourse such as expository, descriptive, narrative, and argumentative writing. A perfectionist writer may feel that their thoughts or sentences “don’t come out right”, depending on the task, causing blocking. A low-confidence writer may feel that they are incapable of the task and avoids it.

The intrapersonal domain affects the self-efficacy, self-concept, and work ethic to writing. “Writing self-efficacy is influenced not only by the student’s own physiological and emotional reactions to a task, but also by past experience and verbal feedback from others” (Martinez, et. al. 352). Neuroticism influences the intrapersonal domain greatly since it focuses on the attitudes and beliefs within the writer.

Finally, the intrapersonal domain focuses on external pressures of the writer. Whether the task is collaborative or being evaluated by peers or a teacher, these factors can place pressure on the writer causing nervousness, doubt their ability, or incompletion of assignment to avoid rejection or failure of writing ability.

Variables that impact the construct of apprehensive writing

The theory postulates many different relationships about writing apprehension and how the measurement of neuroticism, based upon factor analysis, play into the notion of what Rose refers to as “writers block.” Mike Rose has done some profound work in trying to measure “writer’s block”: using questionnaires, observation of the writing process, and informal interviews post-assignment, to probe the thoughts behind college students’ actions. Rose is one of the pioneers of researching writers block and apprehension using cognitive psychology theory (1984). His case study delineates and describes “blocking behaviors” of college students, and uses questionnaires to “describe blocking behaviors and items that describe cognitive and cognitive/attitudinal variables related to blocking” (16). Rose claims that both high and low blockers use rules and assumptions for organization and the writing process, but the difference is between rigidity and flexibility in those rules may cause the writer to block.

“Skill problems have long been examined and a bewildering panoply of treatments—from sentence-combining to role-playing—has been built. But when the capable writer cannot write, we are puzzled and often resort to broad affective explanations…It is possible that this affective bent explains why writer’s block has never been the object of the educator’s scrutiny” (1-2).

Rose refers to cognition in an epistemological approach. Students learn rules, organization, and evaluation of their writing, which contributes to the anxiety, fear, apprehension, and frustration in writing. Many students miss deadlines, use inflexible rules and strategies, which disrupt the flow of their writing. If the Big Five personality domain of neuroticism is considered and applied to apprehensive writing, than this could possibly give researchers practical implications to investigate and address the affective explanations, and build upon the cognitive explanations, people use in the face of writer’s block; and finally offer guidance to those suffering with “neurotic writing” and pedagogy to the teachers teaching neurotic writers. After all, neuroticism—emotional instability, lack of confidence, fear of evaluation, and negative emotions can all stagnate a person’s ability to produce a document or doubt the product they are producing.