Finishing Unfinished Business: A Study of Reactions to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.
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| Title: | Finishing Unfinished Business: A Study of Reactions to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Labott, Susan M., Martin, Randall B. |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 8 |
| Publication Date: | 1987 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research Speeches/Meeting Papers |
| Descriptors: | Adults, Emotional Experience, Emotional Response, Mental Health, Psychological Characteristics, Sex Differences, Social Influences, War |
| Abstract: | A situation in which an individual harbors intense, unexpressed feelings is referred to as "unfinished business." Several schools of psychotherapy suggest that an individual must find closure for important unfinished events in one's past in order to experience life fully. Because observations of the behavior of individuals at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial (VVM) suggests that people visit the memorial to complete their unfinished business, the tendency of individuals to seek closure was evaluated at the VVM. Questionnaires designed to evaluate the emotional effects of a visit to the VVM and the healing expected to result from the visit were completed by 39 adult (22 female, 17 male) visitors to the VVM. The results revealed that the strongest emotion experienced was sadness, and that males reported more fear and guilt than did females. Males also spent more time at the VVM than did females. Most subjects described their visit as a healing experience. These results support the association between strong emotional reactions and healing, and suggest that individuals seek the experiences needed to finish unfinished business. (NB) |
| Entry Date: | 1987 |
| Accession Number: | ED282143 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | A situation in which an individual harbors intense, unexpressed feelings is referred to as "unfinished business." Several schools of psychotherapy suggest that an individual must find closure for important unfinished events in one's past in order to experience life fully. Because observations of the behavior of individuals at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial (VVM) suggests that people visit the memorial to complete their unfinished business, the tendency of individuals to seek closure was evaluated at the VVM. Questionnaires designed to evaluate the emotional effects of a visit to the VVM and the healing expected to result from the visit were completed by 39 adult (22 female, 17 male) visitors to the VVM. The results revealed that the strongest emotion experienced was sadness, and that males reported more fear and guilt than did females. Males also spent more time at the VVM than did females. Most subjects described their visit as a healing experience. These results support the association between strong emotional reactions and healing, and suggest that individuals seek the experiences needed to finish unfinished business. (NB) |
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