(July 2, 2012) A new study reveals a simple strategy that people can use to minimize
how angry and aggressive they get when they are provoked by others.
When
someone makes you angry, try to pretend you’re viewing the scene at a distance
- in other words, you are an observer rather than a participant in this
stressful situation. Then, from that distanced perspective, try to understand
your feelings.
Researchers
call this strategy “self-distancing.”
In one study, college students
who believed a lab partner was berating them for not following directions
responded less aggressively and showed less anger when they were told to take
analyze their feelings from a self-distanced perspective.