Recent research by American scientists suggests that anger can be a catalyst for solving complex problems.
The study was conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University. They carried out experiments involving over 1,000 participants and analyzed survey data from more than 1,400 volunteers to explore the impact of anger on each individual’s problem-solving quality.
Anger can be a “catalyst” for solving complex problems – (Image: ALAMY).
In the first experiment, volunteers were shown images and videos designed to evoke feelings of anger, desire, pleasure, sadness, or neutrality (no emotion).
Immediately afterward, they were asked to participate in a word puzzle game – arranging letters into meaningful words.
The results showed that in a state of anger, volunteers solved 39% more anagrams. Notably, they excelled at difficult letter combinations, significantly outperforming groups in other emotional states.
According to the researchers, volunteers in the angry group spent considerably more time solving challenging letter sets. It seems that anger made them much more persistent compared to other volunteer groups.
In another experiment, volunteers viewed emotional images and videos before playing a snowman obstacle course game.
The results revealed that the angry group scored multiple times higher than those who were neutral or sad. In this survey, the angry group and those feeling pleasure or desire produced comparable results.
Dr. Heather Lench, a lecturer at Texas A&M University and the lead author of the study, stated: “These findings demonstrate that anger can indeed enhance the effort to achieve desired goals, contributing to some successes.”
“Our research shows that using negative emotions as a tool can be particularly effective in certain situations. We also provide additional evidence that a combination of positive and negative emotions will promote happiness,” Dr. Heather Lench added.
The study’s results were published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
