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Brain Science Is Now Studying the Science of Outrage
How does the brain react during discussions that may raise feelings of outrage, and how might we change that is now a topic of interest.
The Internet is proving to be a prime resource for researchers seeking a wide range of subjects, and the areas being explored include the science of outrage. What drives outrage, and can certain platforms use it to their financial advantage?
This new database of subjects speeds up research and sparks future initiatives. Therefore, it is a welcomed addition to our research methodology; however, with any research, issues always need to be resolved in future efforts.
Nothing is pristine or perfect, and we need to keep that in mind. As Aristotle knew, we are inherently imperfect and live in an imperfect world. For example, one of my professors once challenged the class to draw a perfect circle. After that, he indicated that there is no such thing as a perfect circle—that exists in a perfect world where we don't exist.
In our imperfection, outrage is endemic to human behavior, but it has both positive and negative effects. Even though most people would rather not deal with it, it has some “good” aspects, such as making individuals more optimistic, less risk-averse, and more motivated to confront obstacles.
Anger, a key feeling in outrage, in particular, motivates people to take aggressive action, meaning they want to fight back against whatever is making them angry. As a result, anger significantly impacts the willingness to punish criminals and restore justice. Faced with policies contradicting one’s ideology, outrage can motivate political action.
In a recent study, researchers randomly assigned more than half a million Facebook users to one of five political parties to observe how each group’s members reacted. Research shows users are inclined to interact with posts that oppose their opinions, especially when their core beliefs are in question.
According to the researchers, some social media sites and users use people’s wrath to boost participation. Any kind of user engagement, favorable or negative, is good for the platform. Do platforms, then, skew the content to achieve that goal? There must always be this one question regarding any material…
