Revenge fantasies can be satisfying but are they dangerous?

Revenge fantasies aren't just satisfying, research shows they can have meaningful therapeutic benefits for victims of violence and abuse, including a restored sense of control. What about the draw-backs? There are several, including the potential for guilt and shame. A new study focuses on another possible risk - that indulging in revenge fantasies could inspire real acts of aggression. Laura Seebauer and her colleagues simulated the effects of trauma by having several dozen psychologically healthy students watch three disturbing and violent 5-minute clips from these films: Funny Games, Sleepers and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, involving torture and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. After each clip the students engaged in one of three therapeutic exercises. They either imagined entering the scene and dishing out violent retribution on the perpetrator; entering the scene and intervening in non-violent fashion; or simply transporting the victim to a safe place, such as a beautiful beach. The nasty clips made the participants feel angry and sad as you'd expect. The imagery exercises helped, but not equally. The safe place imagery reduced anger, rage and aggression more than either of the more interventionist fantasies, and it also had a larger beneficial effect on relaxation and happiness. There was a trend for the violent revenge fantasies to provoke more joy but statistically this was non-significant. To further test the risk of revenge fantasies inciting aggr...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs