Smashing, breaking, or punching is doing what exactly, and why are they calling it “therapy?”

People often discover these businesses through online advertisements while they drive past shopping centers. The business model of rage rooms, smash rooms, and anger rooms promises customers to destroy items in a protected area for a set period of time. Customers pay to enter a protected area where they can use bats or crowbars to destroy various items, including plates, bottles, old electronic devices, and printers.

The businesses promote their services as stress relief solutions that help customers release their pent-up anger from their weekly struggles.
The concept is effective because it aligns with our common understanding of stress-relief methods. People have always received advice to release their pent-up emotions through physical activity. The psychological concept that internalizing anger leads to adverse effects has long been recognized in the field. The waiver process for rage room customers fails to ask whether destructive activities truly help people manage their anger.

The answer to this question is negative. And the answer lies in examining multiple studies that most rage room customers remain unaware of. Why should they care? They’re selling a service, and that’s it.

The Appeal of Destruction

Rage rooms have gained significant popularity worldwide. The business model has expanded throughout the United States and into multiple countries worldwide. Customers reserve time at these facilities for their birthdays and team-building activities and to cope with relationship endings. Essentially, the experience creates an elevated feeling as you participate. Loud glass-breaking sounds and the sight of inexpensive lamps exploding into pieces create a deep sense of contentment. What are you really doing? Breaking the rules of society by destroying things.

The experience produces authentic positive emotions. But feeling good doesn’t necessarily translate into reduced anger. The scientific evidence on anger management techniques reveals unexpected results that challenge conventional beliefs about this approach.

What Science Actually Says

The 2024 Ohio State University study evaluated 154 anger management techniques through 10,000 participant studies. The research team discovered that physical arousal-increasing activities, such as hitting objects, intense physical exercise, and running, do not decrease anger levels. Actually, these activities often lead to increased anger levels.

The discovery of anger management has been part of scientific knowledge for many years. R.H. Hornberger conducted his research in 1959 to study human behavior. The researcher asked participants to complete a writing assignment, followed by an insult about their work. Participants who pounded nails on a board for 10 minutes showed increased hostility and aggression afterward compared to those who remained seated. Subjects who engaged in nail pounding were expected to experience better emotional states because it would relieve their frustration. It didn’t work out that way.

The results showed the opposite effect from what was expected. Participants who hammered nails displayed higher aggression levels than those who remained silent. The act of hitting objects to release anger increased their willingness to express anger toward people. Is that what we want — people motivated to violence?

The discovery created such concern that scientists conducted additional research to verify their findings. Multiple studies confirmed that the same pattern emerged in their results. The world-renowned psychologist Albert Bandura demanded an immediate halt to using anger release as an anger treatment approach in 1973. A 1977 review established that anger venting doesn’t decrease aggression, but actually increases aggression in people.

Today, unfortunately, there are still individuals who act as therapists and tell their clients to punch pillows or use other objects of destruction. They are going against years of research that contradicts what they are saying. Did they learn nothing from the Bobo Doll experiment?

The myth persisted despite scientific evidence against it. People continued to believe in this myth while the research community continued to study this phenomenon. So, is it advertising or ignorance?

A study at the University of Michigan in 2002 tested the hypothesis surrounding emotion and physical targets. Researchers required participants to punch a bag while thinking about their anger targets. The researchers studied three groups who punched the bag while thinking about their anger, two groups who punched the bag for fitness, and a control group who did not punch anything. Participants who focused on their anger during punching were the most aggressive of all three groups. The practice of doing nothing proved more effective than the practice of anger release.

Why Rage Rooms Feel Good Even Though They Don’t Work

The current situation presents an unusual paradox. People continue to visit rage rooms despite these facilities failing to decrease their anger levels. They experience a positive sensation during rage room activities even though these activities don’t help with anger management.

The solution depends on two essential factors. Physical exercise triggers the body to produce endorphins, which are natural chemicals that create feelings of happiness. The act of destruction requires intense physical effort. Your body will experience a strong sensation regardless of your current emotional state. And the process of destruction provides two primary benefits to people. What are they? They experience a sense of rebellion when they break rules inside controlled spaces, which creates an exciting feeling (pumped up emotions). That’s a momentary effect, but there is no salutary effect that carries over into the other aspects of their lives. Breaking things violently does not translate into a calmer person when they become angry.

Research has shown that people frequently mistake improved moods for reduced aggressive emotions. The temporary improvement in your mood makes you believe your anger has disappeared. Actually, what your body learned is to express aggression through physical actions when you feel angry. What do you actually learn? Your body learned to link anger with physical aggression through this experience. Wouldn’t all of this point to more aggression in a situation of intense anger? Seems to me it would.

The comparison between this situation and smoking cessation becomes apparent. A person who wants to stop smoking would never use a special room for practicing cigarette smoking. The practice of smoking in a designated area would strengthen your smoking habit instead of helping you quit. Rage rooms operate through the exact mechanism as this example.

What Actually Works

The 2024 study demonstrated that arousal-increasing activities are ineffective, while showing effective anger-reduction methods. Your body’s physiological arousal levels decrease when you perform specific activities that prove effective for anger reduction. The following activities help people reduce their anger levels:

• Deep breathing exercises
• Meditation and mindfulness
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Yoga
• Taking time to cool down before responding

The most successful methods combined physical relaxation techniques with cognitive processes. Simply sitting in silence produces beneficial effects. Your breathing rate becomes more relaxed when you practice deliberate breathing control. What’s more, these techniques help people from all backgrounds, age groups, and cultural backgrounds, and in different situations. They proved effective for both college students and criminal offenders in controlled laboratory environments and real-world situations.

Research conducted since 1959 has consistently demonstrated results on this topic. To effectively handle anger, you need to reduce its intensity rather than increase it. Your body needs to relax, not get more energized. That is the caveat.

The Middle Ground

The elimination of rage rooms from public access doesn’t seem necessary, and people should understand that these facilities provide no therapeutic benefits. Smashing objects with friends remains a harmless form of entertainment when people understand it serves as entertainment rather than therapy.

Don’t try to deceive yourself that it’s anything other than entertainment. Destroying objects with friends can create a unique experience and offer an opportunity to try something new together. But that’s all, it is an opportunity for bonding and fun, not a therapeutic activity.

People face issues when they believe rage rooms provide therapeutic benefits. Those who visit rage rooms for anger management purposes choose an ineffective method according to scientific evidence. The practice of aggressive responses to frustration during rage room activities might actually intensify your anger problems. It would be interesting if someone did an experiment where they logged persons who had utilized rage rooms and how frequently they engaged in physical aggression toward someone when they were away from those rooms. Who’s up for that one?

People can attend rage rooms for entertainment without any issues when they visit for special events or out of curiosity. But anyone who experiences anger problems that impact their relationships, work performance, or health status should avoid rage rooms as a solution.

The scientific evidence from sixty-five years of research confirms that rage rooms do not work for anger management. When you become angry, take ten deep breaths while counting your exhalations. Take a peaceful stroll through the area. Find a peaceful spot to sit for 15 minutes of silence. Help yourself calm down, not ramp up your anger.

The process of managing anger through these methods will prove more effective than destroying a television, even though it lacks the thrilling experience. The actual goal of anger management requires you to focus on controlling your anger rather than simply learning about it.