Study finds increasing physiological arousal fuels the fire of rage
Ohio State University
Instead, techniques
often used to address stress -- deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga
or even counting to 10 -- have been shown to be more effective at decreasing
anger and aggression.
Researchers analyzed
over 150 studies involving more than 10,000 participants and found that what
really works to reduce anger is lowering physiological arousal -- in other
words, turning down the heat. Activities that increased arousal overall had no
effect on anger, and some activities made it worse -- particularly jogging.
"I think it's really important to bust the myth that if you're angry you should blow off steam -- get it off your chest," said senior author Brad Bushman, professor of communication at The Ohio State University. "Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there's not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory.
"To reduce anger,
it is better to engage in activities that decrease arousal levels,"
Bushman said. "Despite what popular wisdom may suggest, even going for a
run is not an effective strategy because it increases arousal levels and ends
up being counterproductive."
The study was led by
first author Sophie Kjærvik, who completed the review for her Ohio State
dissertation. It was published online March 11 in the journal Clinical
Psychology Review.
Kjærvik, now a
postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the work was
inspired in part by the rising popularity of rage rooms that promote smashing
things (such as glass, plates and electronics) to work through angry feelings.
"I wanted to debunk
the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it," she
said. "We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the
physiological aspect of it, is really important."
The meta-analytic review
was based on 154 studies involving 10,189 participants of different genders,
races, ages and cultures. The study selection and analysis were guided by the
Schachter-Singer two-factor theory, which assumes that all emotions, including
anger, consist of physiological arousal and mental meanings. To get rid of
anger, you can work on either of those.
Several previous
meta-analytic reviews have focused on changing mental meanings using cognitive
behavioral therapy, which works. However, Kjærvik and Bushman said a
meta-analytic review on the role of arousal would fill an important gap in
understanding how to resolve anger. Their analysis focused on examining both
arousal-increasing activities (e.g., hitting a bag, jogging, cycling, swimming)
and arousal-decreasing activities (e.g., deep breathing, mindfulness,
meditation, yoga).
Results showed that
arousal-decreasing activities were effective at fending off the fury in labs
and field settings, using digital platforms or in-person instruction, and in
group and individual sessions across multiple populations: college students and
non-students, people with and without a criminal history, and individuals with
and without intellectual disabilities.
Arousal-decreasing
activities that were effective at lowering anger across the board included deep
breathing, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, slow flow yoga, progressive
muscle relaxation, diaphragmic breathing and taking a timeout.
"It was really
interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and just relaxation in
general might be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and
meditation," Kjærvik said. "And yoga, which can be more arousing than
meditation and mindfulness, is still a way of calming and focusing on your
breath that has the similar effect in reducing anger.
"Obviously in
today's society, we're all dealing with a lot of stress, and we need ways of
coping with that, too. Showing that the same strategies that work for stress
actually also work for anger is beneficial."
In contrast, activities
that increased arousal were generally ineffective, but also produced a complex
range of outcomes. Jogging was the most likely to increase anger, while
physical education classes and playing ball sports had an arousal-decreasing effect
-- suggesting to the researchers that introducing an element of play into
physical activity may at least increase positive emotions or counteract
negative feelings.
Finding that increasing
arousal was not the answer to anger corresponded with previous work led by
Bushman that linked venting anger with continued aggression.
"Certain physical
activities that increase arousal may be good for your heart, but they're
definitely not the best way to reduce anger," Bushman said. "It's
really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that
any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression."
That being the case, the
authors noted that many arousal-decreasing interventions shown to lower the
heat of anger are free or inexpensive and easy to access.
"You don't need to necessarily book an appointment with a cognitive behavioral therapist to deal with anger. You can download an app for free on your phone, or you can find a YouTube video if you need guidance," Kjærvik said.
