ABSTRACT
The intuitive griever converts more of his or her energy into the affective
domain and invests less into the cognitive. For the intuitive griever grief
consists primarily of profoundly painful feelings. These grievers tend to
spontaneously express their painful feelings through crying and want to
share their inner experiences with others. The instrumental griever, on the
other hand, converts most of the instinctual energy generated by bereave-
ment into the cognitive domain rather than the affective. Painful feelings
are tempered; for the instrumental griever, grief is more of an intellectual
experience. Consequently, instrumental grievers may channel energy into
activity. They may also prefer to discuss problems rather than feelings. (p. 31)
Those with a blended pattern, which constitutes the vast majority of individual
grievers, choose adaptive strategies “that are more evenly balanced, reflecting the
greater symmetry between the cognitive and affective responses of the individual”
(p. 32). Those who are “dissonant” grievers express grief differently than they
experience it, and are thus “truly at war with themselves” (p. 58).
