Does Venting Anger Feed or Extinguish the Flame?

Transcription

1 Does Venting Anger Feed or Extinguish the Flame? Brad J. Bushman, Ph.D. Professor of Communication and Professor The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Professor of Communication Science VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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3 Outline Catharsis theory Does the empirical evidence support catharsis theory? Does catharsis work if people believe in it? Why does catharsis theory survive? If venting does not work, what does?

4 Catharsis Theory Dates back to Aristotle. Term comes from the Greek katharsis, which means to cleanse or purge. According to catharsis theory, acting aggressively or even viewing aggression purges angry feelings and aggressive impulses into harmless channels.

5 Frustrations lead to anger, and anger builds up inside a person, like steam inside a pressure cooker, until it is vented. If anger isn t vented, the person will eventually explode in an aggressive rage. Hydraulic Model

6 Meta-Analysis A literature review that combines the statistical results (e.g., correlations) from different studies conducted on the same topic.

7 Literature Review PsychINFO database searched Both published and unpublished studies were included Keywords: ang* or viol* or hostil* or aggress* or arous*

8 Inputs Routes Person Situation Present internal state: Affect Social encounter Outcomes Cognition Appraisal & decision processes Arousal Thoughtful action Impulsive action Anderson & Bushman (2002) Annual Review of Psychology

9 Dependent Measures Aggressive affect (anger) Aggressive thoughts Physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate) Aggressive behavior

10 Variables Coded Publication status (published or unpublished) Age (child or adult subjects) Design (experimental or nonexperimental) Time spent in anger management training Subject population (individuals with or without chronic anger problems) Anger reduction technique

11 Anger Reduction Techniques Aggressive Venting Aggressive fantasy Violent media Nonaggressive Relaxation Cognitive Behavioral " $ # $ % Had similar effects so they were combined

12 Anger Studies Subjects Nonaggressive 92 4,045 Violent media 57 5,802 Correlation Aggressive fantasy Venting 10 1, Correlation Bushman (2012) Capped horizontal bars are 95% confidence intervals

13 Aggressive Thoughts Studies Subjects Nonaggressive 17 1,523 Violent media ,985 Correlation Aggressive fantasy Venting Correlation Bushman (2012) Capped horizontal bars are 95% confidence intervals

14 Physiological Arousal Studies Subjects Nonaggressive 49 1,762 Violent media 32 1,653 Correlation Aggressive fantasy 2 93 Venting Correlation Bushman (2012) Capped horizontal bars are 95% confidence intervals For low status targets who cannot retaliate

15 Aggressive Behavior Studies Subjects Nonaggressive 80 2,970 Violent media ,342 Correlation Aggressive fantasy Venting 41 2, Correlation Bushman (2012) Capped horizontal bars are 95% confidence intervals

16 Moderator Anger Cognition Arousal Aggression Publication status 1.32* Age 0.29* Study design 4.90* 0.45 Time 1.48* Population 0.76* Time X Population 0.15* χ 2 statistics based on 1 df (critical value = 3.84), * p <.05. Experiments (r + = -.35, k = 80). Non-experiments (r + = -.12, k = 12). Bushman (2012)

17 Punch a pillow or a punching bag. If you are angry at a particular person, imagine his or her face on the pillow or punching bag, and vent your rage physically and verbally. You will be doing violence to a pillow or punching bag so that you can stop doing violence to yourself by holding in poisonous anger. John Lee, writer

18 Rumination Study Participants: 300 men, 300 women Cover story: Impression formation Wrote an essay and exchanged it with their partner for evaluation.

19 Item Evaluation Organization -10 Originality -9 Writing style -9 Clarity of expression -8 Persuasive arguments -9 Overall rating -9 Comment: One of the worst essays I ve read! Note. Ratings were made on a 21-point scale that went from -10=very bad to +10=very good

20 Rumination Study Participants: 300 men, 300 women Cover story: Impression formation Wrote an essay and exchanged it with their partner for evaluation. Randomly assigned to rumination, distraction, or control conditions.

21 Rumination: Subjects Thought About the Person Who Had Criticized Their Essay Male Subjects Female Subjects

22 Distraction: Subjects Thought About Becoming Physically Fit Male Subjects Female Subjects

23 Control: Did not hit the punching bag

24 Rumination Study Participants: 300 men, 300 women Cover story: Impression formation Wrote an essay and exchanged it with their partner for evaluation. Randomly assigned to rumination, distraction, or control conditions. Reported their mood (including anger).

25 Anger Measure Indicate to what extent you feel this way right now, that is, at the present moment (1=very slightly or not at all to 5=extremely) Anger items (e.g., angry, annoyed, cruel, enraged, furious, hostile, irritable) Filler items (e.g., active, attentive, excited, inspired, interested, proud, strong)

26 Rumination Study Participants: 300 men, 300 women Cover story: Impression formation Wrote an essay and exchanged it with their partner for evaluation. Randomly assigned to rumination, distraction, or control conditions. Reported their mood (including anger). Aggression measured.

27 Control Distraction Rumination Bushman (2002) Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

28 Control Distraction Rumination Bushman (2002) Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

29 Placebo Effect If venting works under any conditions, it should work when people believe that it works.

30 Does Venting Work if People Believe That it Works? Participants: 350 men, 350 women Independent variables: Venting: Hit or did not hit punching bag Message: Pro-catharsis, anti-catharsis, or control Aggression target: Provocateur or innocent third party

31 0.2 Punching Bag Preference Pro-catharsis Control Anti-catharsis Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack (1999) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Study 2

32 0.6 Predictions based on catharsis theory 0.4 Aggression Aggression Placebo effect Pro-catharsis Pro-catharsis Control Anti-catharsis Didn't Hit Bag Hit Bag

33 0.6 Actual results 0.4 Aggression Anti-placebo effect Pro-catharsis Pro-catharsis Control Anti-catharsis Didn't Hit Bag Hit Bag Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack (1999) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Study 2

34 Aggression Target Displaced aggression: Target was an innocent bystander. Direct aggression: Target was the same person who criticized the essay. Participants who vented were just as aggressive against an innocent bystander as against the person who criticized them.

35 Most People Love to Vent Anger! It Feels Good! Enjoyed Hitting Punching Bag (%) Pro-catharsis Control Anti-catharsis Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack (1999) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Study 2

36 Correlations between measures Measure Desire to hit bag.23*.19* 2. Enjoyed hitting bag.11* 3. Aggression Catharsis theory would predict negative correlations, but all are positive! Bushman, Baumeister, & Stack (1999) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Study 2

37 Moratorium on Catharsis Theory In 1973, Albert Bandura said that catharsis theory was false and that venting in therapy should be banned because it may reinforce aggressive tendencies.

38 Venting Anger is Like Using Gasoline to Put Out a Fire It Feeds the Flame! Venting keeps arousal levels high. Venting keeps aggressive thoughts active in memory. Venting keeps angry feelings alive.

39 Why Does Catharsis Theory Survive? Professional psychologists Pop psychologists Mass media

40 The reaction of an injured person to a trauma has really only a cathartic effect if it is expressed in an adequate reaction like revenge. Breuer & Freud ( )

41 Feeling stressed? You ought to have a tantrum 'Releasing tension through shouting and screaming is a really beneficial way to expel the negative energies caused by stress,' said body language expert Judi James, the Big Brother psychologist.

42 Kip Kinkel s journal: I am so full of rage that I feel I could snap at any moment. I think about it everyday. Blowing the school up or walking into a pep assembly with guns. In either case, people that are breathing will stop breathing.

43 Psychologist Notes Kip reported he often feels angry but doesn t know why. Kip reported he makes explosives from gasoline to vent feelings of anger. If he has a bad day at school, he feels better after detonating an explosive. Suggested he consider riding his bike, running, shooting baskets or tearing old magazines (old phone books or newspapers) when angry.

44 May 20, 1998, Kinkel killed his parents at home. The next day, he entered his high school and shot 50 bullets from a semi-automatic rifle, killing 2 students and wounding 25 others.

45 Advice from Pop-Psychologists Pound a pillow. Tear up a phone book. Break cheap dishes. Didn t work for Kip Kinkel! Freeze ice in a milk carton and then beat it with a hammer.

46 Chinese 'anger bar' is a big hit BBC News Monday, 7 August 2006 The Rising Sun Anger Release Bar in Nanjing lets customers smash glasses, rant and even hit specially trained workers. The bar employs 20 men who have been given protective gear and physical training.

47 Anger room

48 "Some expression of prejudice serves a useful purpose. It lets off steam; it allows natural tensions to express themselves incrementally; it can siphon off conflict through words, rather than actions. Andrew Sullivan New York Times Magazine

49 The Mass Media Feed the Myth That Venting Anger Works In the movie Network, a newscaster successfully gets his entire audience to go outside and vent their anger by saying "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any longer!

50 Analyze This - 'Just hit the pillow'

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52 Barbara Walters Executive Producer, The View (1998-present) In 2004, Forbes listed Walters as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world (ranked #25)

53 Effective Ways to Reduce Anger Delay: Let the anger dissipate. Relaxation: Try to reduce arousal. Distraction: Think about something else. Incompatible response: Do something incompatible with anger and aggression.

54 Baron (1976) study Warm day in June (83 F, 28.3 C) Participants were 96 male motorists. A car driven by a male confederate pulled up to a red traffic light and remained there 15 seconds after the light turned green. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions or a control group.

55 Distraction Empathy

56 Sexual arousal Humor

57 Latency to honk Proportion honking 0 Control Distraction Empathy Humor Sexual arousal Condition 0

58 "Anger cannot be overcome by anger. If someone is angry with you, and you show anger in return, the result is a disaster. On the other hand, if you control your anger and show its opposite love, compassion, tolerance and patience not only will you remain peaceful, but the other person's anger will also diminish. Dalai Lama

59 "It is time to put a bullet, once and for all, through heart of the catharsis hypothesis. The belief that observing violence (or venting it) gets rid of hostilities has virtually never been supported by research." Carol Tavris

60 Conclusions Catharsis theory is false. People feel good after venting, but the good feeling increases aggression. Venting causes people to aggress against innocent bystanders. Exercise can distract people (and is good for the heart), but does not reduce anger and aggression. Delay, distraction, relaxation, and incompatible responses decrease anger and aggression.