Anger can be reduced by publishing one's feelings on paper and then erasing them after receiving an insult

"We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent," lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. "However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely."

The significance of this research lies in its ability to mitigate adverse outcomes in both professional and personal domains by effectively managing anger in both domestic and professional settings. Unfortunately, many of the anger management approaches offered by professionals lack actual study support. Recalling them can be challenging when experiencing anger.

The findings of this research, which have been published in the esteemed journal Scientific Reports, represent the culmination of extensive prior investigations into the correlation between written language and the mitigation of rage. It expands upon previous research demonstrating how engagements with tangible entities can influence an individual's emotional state.

For their project, Kawai and his graduate student Yuta Kanaya, both at the Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, asked participants to write brief opinions about important social problems, such as whether smoking in public should be outlawed. Subsequently, they informed them that their writing would be assessed by a doctorate student from Nagoya University.

Nevertheless, the individuals conducting the evaluation were botanical specimens. The evaluators assigned poor scores to the participants in terms of intelligence, curiosity, kindness, logic, and rationality, irrespective of their written responses. To really drive home the point, the doctoral students also wrote the same insulting comment: "I cannot believe an educated person would think like this. I hope this person learns something while at the university."

Following the distribution of these unfavorable remarks, the researchers instructed the participants to articulate their reflections on the feedback, with a specific emphasis on the factors that elicited their emotional responses. Ultimately, a cohort of individuals was instructed to either dispose of the written material in a designated receptacle or retain it within a file located on their workstation. Another group was instructed to either shred the document or place it in a plastic box.

The participants were subsequently instructed to assess their level of anger subsequent to the insult, as well as after either disposing of or retaining the paper. As anticipated, all individuals exhibited an elevated level of anger subsequent to being subjected to derogatory remarks. Nonetheless, the participants who disposed of their paper by either disposing of it in the trash can or shredding it saw a reversion to their initial anger levels. In contrast, the individuals who retained a physical copy of the insult shown a marginal reduction in their overall level of anger.

Kawai envisions utilizing his research findings to provide assistance to business professionals who encounter challenging circumstances. "This technique can be implemented immediately by documenting the origin of anger, akin to taking a memo, and subsequently disregarding it when experiencing anger in a professional setting," he elucidated.

In addition to its pragmatic advantages, this finding has the potential to provide insights into the historical roots of the Japanese cultural practice referred to as hakidashisara. The term "hakidashi" denotes the act of purging or spitting out of an object, while "sara" pertains to a specific dish or plate. This tradition is observed at the Hiyoshi shrine located in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, in close proximity to Nagoya. Hakidashisara is a yearly celebration in which individuals shatter tiny disks symbolizing sources of anger. Their research may elucidate the sensation of alleviation that participants express upon departing from the festival.

Journal Reference: Yuta Kanaya, Nobuyuki Kawai. Anger is eliminated with the disposal of a paper written because of provocation. Scientific Reports, 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57916-z