Does letting it out make anger smaller?
· Source: Bushman, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2002
“Let it out” is common advice for anger. In experiments it tends to keep anger going.
Does letting it out make anger smaller?
Hitting a punching bag kept anger going. In a 2002 experiment, angry people who hit a punching bag while thinking about the person who annoyed them ended up angrier and more aggressive. People who did nothing at all for a few minutes ended up the calmest. Name it, then give it time. Say what you feel in one word: angry, hurt, embarrassed. Wait a few minutes before you decide what to do about it. Say it once. Then set it down. Halflight writes it down and puts it under today’s date.