Dialog with an imaginary interlocutor as a form of support in coping with stressful situations

The research described in the article is based on the assumption that support is a function of internal dialogs, but their role in a stressful situation is not known. The subject of the research is dialogs with imaginary interlocutors and their role in coping in stressful situations. The participants in the study (N = 73) were asked to imagine a difficult situation. Then, the experimental group (N = 36) conducted an imaginary dialog with a person from the previously created map of support. The control group (N = 37) generated a list of possible solutions to a difficult situation. The study measured the quality of support obtained as a result of the dialog or as a result of making a list of solutions. The results show that a dialog with an imaginary interlocutor is a more effective form of coping with a stressful situation than generating a list of possible solutions to the problem.