14 DAY TRIAL // New evidence are piling up in the scientific community, suggesting that keeping emotions locked inside may in fact make people more aggressive, even if unintentionally. The idea was shunned at first, but now more and more scientists are beginning to rally to this emerging theory.
A collaboration of American experts, featuring members from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Minnesota, recently conducted a new research on the issue. They say that its conclusions could be used in large-scale efforts to reduce violence.
Analyzing the link between latent emotions and aggression in detail could benefit law enforcement workers, emergency responders and soldiers deal with the stressful nature of their jobs a lot better.
During the experiments the team conducted, participants were separated in two groups. The first was made to watch a disgusting movie scene, and asked not to express their emotions. The second group was also made to watch a similar scene, but were allowed to express what they felt.
At the end of the video clips, experts determined that people in the first group were significantly more aggressive than those who could express what they felt when they saw the gruesome scenes.
Experts call this type of behavior the ego depletion effect. In real-life, it may translate into a policeman or a fireman coming home after a stressful day and yelling at their children or immediate family.
The same could hold true for average, white-collar workers who need to put up with a difficult boss, and cannot express their feelings or emotions at the right time. Interestingly, in the study, people who watched the clips while tired were not more aggressive, regardless of which group they were in.
“Our research suggests people may become more aggressive after they have to control themselves,” explains UTA psychology professor and study coauthor Dr. Arthur Markman.
“Whatever psychological mechanisms are at work when people deal with stress and then have to exercise self-control later are not the same thing that happens when you’re tired,” the expert adds.
Details of the new research were published in the latest issue of the medical journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, PsychCentral reports. UTA expert Dr. Todd Maddox and UM professors Dr. Kathleen Vohs and Brian Glass co-wrote the paper.
The work, which was carried out using grant money from the US Army and other sources, included soldiers, cadets and regular college students as participants. The conclusions have direct applicability in real life, the research team says.