Anger may be a powerful motivator for tough goals, new study suggests

Anger may be the trick for finding motivation to complete challenging tasks or reach a goal, according to a recent study published by the American Psychological Association in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The findings suggest that "angry people "perform better on a set of challenging tasks than those who are emotionally neutral," The Guardian summarized. 

Even though people are more likely to "use positive emotions as tools more than negative and tend to see negative emotions as undesirable and maladaptive,”  Dr. Heather Lench, the study's first author, noted that existing research suggests "a mix of emotions, including negative emotions like anger, result in the best outcomes.”

Researchers at Texas A&M University conducted several experiments involving over 1,000 people. They analyzed survey data from over 1,400 to test that theory about anger's impact on someone's drive. The experiments included completing challenging puzzles and avoiding obstacles in a skiing video game. In each experiment, the researchers elicited a particular emotion from the participants before they took on the task. They also analyzed poll data from the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections to consider how anger influenced voting behavior. The group found that "anger increases effort toward attaining a desired goal, frequently resulting in greater success,” Lench concluded. 

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In all the experiments, researchers found that anger improved the subject's chances of reaching challenging goals compared to a neutral emotional condition. However, when the goal was easier, anger did not improve the outcome, CBS News reported. For some experiments, "amusement or desire were also associated with increased goal attainment," the outlet added, "but anger was associated with increased success across the board."

“Our research adds to the growing evidence that a mix of positive and negative emotions promotes wellbeing and that using negative emotions as tools can be particularly effective in some situations,” Lench said in a press release.