Is Expressing Aggression Helpful Or Harmful?

Catharsis theory is a commonly accepted view that one can purges anger through the aggressive behavior expression. The core idea is that it is better to let the anger out as opposed to keeping it inside so that decrease aggression. Over the years the theory of catharsis is one popular and authoritative statement that venting one’s anger will produce a positive improvement in one’s psychological state. But some empirical findings have been inconsistent with the catharsis hypothesis. The effect of catharsis is questioned and lots of evidence show the aggressive increased rather than decreased after the catharsis. Besides, some researchers also maintain that the catharsis theory should be better evaluated and reexamined.In the present research, we examined whether having the goal to aggress will decrease the aggressive, even include the implicit aggressive. In the experiments the Essay Evaluation Paradigm will be used to arouse the anger. Then put the subjects into three groups, the goal-fulfillment, non goal-fulfillment and the control condition (distraction), and record the anger, anxiety, positive and negative emotion, and explicit and implicit aggression. The result shows that after goal-fulfillment both the explicit and implicit was decreased compare with the non goal-fulfillment and control condition. It is noticed that although distraction was evidenced that it may be a good way to vent the anger, it is not effective to decrease the implicit aggression.