Anger and breaking things. Why does it feel so good the more expensive the item is?

[CrysisMcGee]

Like a lot of people, I have no patience when i'm tired. When i'm trying to concentrate by reading, watching something, or listening to music, anything that breaks my concentration wants me to make it never irritate me again. And when people irritate me I get the incredible urge to break things.

And not things that can be easily replaced. Like my monitor, my windows, or just taking a sledgehammer to everything. Reminding myself I don't have money to replace it only makes it worse. And counting to ten don't do SHIT.

So here's my question. Why is it that when we are angry, we get the urge to break the most expensive or not easily replaceable items? It's not a fluffy pillow its the computer I spent 2k on I want to destroy. even my own body I derive satisfaction from damaging.

It's as if i could stab a knife through my own hand, just because I know how bad it will hurt and how much damage it will cause. Or breaking my own expensive things just because I know how hard it is to replace.

I'm attempting to understand the psychology behind it, and would like a better answer than "simply because it's expensive"

 

[Queen Michael]

It's because when we feel angry we want to do stuff that's forbidden.

 

[tippy2k2]

Usually expensive things are more...engaging to smash for lack of a better word. Here's an example that might explain it since I am at a loss for words:

I am here playing a game of FIFA when this scrub of a player takes a lucky shot that should have been stopped about five times before it got anywhere near my damn goal and I lose the game to this dipshit who can't play worth a damn.

"TIPPY2K2 SMASH!" yells our dashing hero. He has two objects to smash, a pillow and a 360 controller.

"SMASH!" he screams as he hits the pillow. The pillow...poofs and that's about it. If you're lucky a few feathers might fly out and limply fall to the ground. It withers away like my...I mean...this angry man's willy after another frustrating night alone...

"STILL ANGRY!" shouts our sexy leading man as he throws the 360 controller at the TV. A loud CRASH is heard and pieces of the controller go flying everywhere. The controller was thrown with such force that it punched through the television, causing the device to fall down dead. A glorious eruption of plastic and pieces of the TV fly through the air with a dying whimper of the picture failing.

Does that make sense? I hope so or I'm going to sound like I could use some anger management...

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I think it's because a lot of gamers have anger issues. Can't say I've ever broken anything in a fit of rage[footnote]well, aside from one incident when I hit a wall with the back of my hand and managed to accidentally put a hole in it, and that had nothing to do with games and everything to do with not realizing how easy it is to put a hole in drywall.[/footnote], and it honestly scares me any time I see someone get angry enough to do so over a freaking video game. If the game makes you that angry, for the love of god, turn it off. You're obviously not enjoying it.

 

[CrysisMcGee]

snip

and snip

I would like to thank both of you. The fact that it is forbidden, and the fact that the thing you break makes noise and pieces go everywhere make total sense to me. If you can think of anything else I would love to hear it, but for now you have given me a better understanding.

Now I understand why people use guns when they are angry.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Anger provides adrenaline, adrenaline takes a long time to fade from your system, you instinctively look around to channel it through wreakage. I suppose the higher your adrenaline levels, the more anger management you need, whereas if your adrenaline takes long to build or goes away quickly, you're not the destructive type. That's just my opinion.

 

[piinyouri]

It's because when we feel angry we want to do stuff that's forbidden.

Yep, I agree with this from seeing it in my own life.

When you're angry, the more expensive something is, the more you feel you're 'breaking the law' so to speak.

@Owyn_Merrilin: Most of the time it's not 100% the game that's creating the anger.
Most walk around with already pent up anger and frustrations and games can sometimes be a catalyst that releases all of it, even if the person doesn't really intend to.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

It's because when we feel angry we want to do stuff that's forbidden.

Yep, I agree with this from seeing it in my own life.

When you're angry, the more expensive something is, the more you feel you're 'breaking the law' so to speak.

@Owyn_Merrilin: Most of the time it's not 100% the game that's creating the anger.
Most walk around with already pent up anger and frustrations and games can sometimes be a catalyst that releases all of it, even if the person doesn't really intend to.

That's not helping the case that people who do that don't have anger management issues. In fact, if anything, it makes it even more obvious that they do. If you're walking around with rage that you keep bottled up to the point that it explodes like that, by definition, you're not managing your anger well.

 

[piinyouri]

It's because when we feel angry we want to do stuff that's forbidden.

Yep, I agree with this from seeing it in my own life.

When you're angry, the more expensive something is, the more you feel you're 'breaking the law' so to speak.

@Owyn_Merrilin: Most of the time it's not 100% the game that's creating the anger.
Most walk around with already pent up anger and frustrations and games can sometimes be a catalyst that releases all of it, even if the person doesn't really intend to.

That's not helping the case that people who do that don't have anger management issues. In fact, if anything, it makes it even more obvious that they do. If you're walking around with rage that you keep bottled up to the point that it explodes like that, by definition, you're not managing your anger well.

Oh yeah, I'm not arguing that.
Just wanted to clarify that anger at games is usually not really at the games themselves and doesn't come out of nowhere.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

It's because when we feel angry we want to do stuff that's forbidden.

Yep, I agree with this from seeing it in my own life.

When you're angry, the more expensive something is, the more you feel you're 'breaking the law' so to speak.

@Owyn_Merrilin: Most of the time it's not 100% the game that's creating the anger.
Most walk around with already pent up anger and frustrations and games can sometimes be a catalyst that releases all of it, even if the person doesn't really intend to.

That's not helping the case that people who do that don't have anger management issues. In fact, if anything, it makes it even more obvious that they do. If you're walking around with rage that you keep bottled up to the point that it explodes like that, by definition, you're not managing your anger well.

Oh yeah, I'm not arguing that.
Just wanted to clarify that anger at games is usually not really at the games themselves and doesn't come out of nowhere.

Fair enough. The last time I got into a discussion about this subject on this site, the quotes I got were... angrier.

 

[TehCookie]

My fluffy pillow never turned into a piece of shit in the middle of using it, it just remains soft and fluffy as always. On the other hand my computer doesn't do what I told it to do so what the fuck it this piece of shit good for if it can't do what I bought it for? I'm going to take my anger out on the thing that's pissing me off, price has nothing to do with it. I never got mad at my PC and wanted to smash my car even though that's more expensive.

Though I usually don't break things since wasting money is a worse feeling than any satisfaction from primal rage, I just swear. A lot.

 

[Abomination]

I remember when I got so angry I kicked a door off its hinges. A few seconds later I marveled at my destructive capacity and felt awesome. I don't even remember what pushed me into that rage, but it's never happened or gotten near to happening again.

I think I did it because the people around me didn't realise just how much their actions were upsetting me so I had to give them a display. It was a form of showboating then? Asserting myself as an individual to not be trifled with? I guess that's why gorillas have their rage-outs or "go ape" as it were - it's all a display of power. Delivering a message of "If you're makning me angry that is something you should seriously consider not doing anymore, because I can direct this force at YOU".

 

[Silenttalker22]

I've always found the more satisfying action is the most destructive. I get more satisfaction from tipping over a couch, or putting my fist through something, than throwing a controller. Maybe it's because of the resistance and impact it provided was more reflective of what I wanted to see from my anger?

 

[likalaruku]

There are places you can go to with a group of 3 other people & pay a fee, & they let you break all the donated dishes you can swing a bat at in 5 minutes.

When I feel like breaking shit, I play Dungeon Siege & go after the barrels. I sure do wish modern RPGs would bring back smashable barrels.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Nah, the satisfaction is in the aftermath. Demoing an entire wall in a factory was easily on of the most satisfying things I've ever destroyed. Also fun was knocking out thick glass blocks with a sledgehammer in that same factory and seeing how far we could get them to slide. Damn, that was fun.

More in my destructive career was in a warehouse. Ripping a piece of wood off a pallet and wailing on the inside of a tractor trailer to get out frustration was great, it's one of the only things I miss about working in that warehouse. The resulting sound was the satisfying thing and the vibration from the impact on my hands.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Honestly, I'm more about the breakage than the price. The reason I'd rather punch a monitor or window than a pillow is because pillows are ridiculously unsatisfying to punch, and monitors, with their multiple layers seperated by air and plenty of components to shatter out, are incredibly satisfying to punch. Same with throwing things, I'd much rather throw a smallish, hard, spherical, hollow object than a cardboard box or a sack. It's all about how direct the force is and the consequences thereafter.

 

[piinyouri]

On that note, drums are the most unsatisfying thing to hit.

Me: "*deep sharp breath* "Fucking goddamn stupid fucking feet do what I tell you fuck"
*whomp floor tom+snare as hard as I can with sticks*

Drum: "What?"

Me: "..."

 

[Galletea]

My fluffy pillow never turned into a piece of shit in the middle of using it, it just remains soft and fluffy as always. On the other hand my computer doesn't do what I told it to do so what the fuck it this piece of shit good for if it can't do what I bought it for? I'm going to take my anger out on the thing that's pissing me off, price has nothing to do with it. I never got mad at my PC and wanted to smash my car even though that's more expensive.

Though I usually don't break things since wasting money is a worse feeling than any satisfaction from primal rage, I just swear. A lot.

I'm with this one. I reckon it is partially because we assign human characteristics to things and when they don't work we want to beat it up, and then feel that we can, since it is an inanimate object.

I'm happy to punch the sofa though usually, it's nice and firm without breaking my hands, but then I rarely get furious.

 

[Mr F.]

The amount of rage in gamers worries me, genuinely. I can just see so much more anger in my gamer friends then my other friends. Only time I have had a chair thrown at me was by a gamer, only time I have seen a table demolished was by a gamer, only time I thought someone was going to throw a punch at me, whilst sober, was a gamer. So much anger and rage.

Oh, wait, saying things like that (Even though some people seem to be agreeing) would mean I was drawing some form of correlation between gaming and ANYTHING NEGATIVE WHATSOEVER so I guess I should see myself out.

OT: Well, I really don't know. I have never broken anything in a rage. Or been "In a rage" or experienced "Rage". I have been in a fight, but I would not describe myself as "Angry" or any word like it. Cold, calculating and efficient works better. I have seen rages though. The table mentioned earlier was broken by my old arena partner after the 5th Hunter Resto Druid in a row.

 

[Strazdas]

A primitive man, when angry, killed the source of anger. our society has evolved, but out instinct havent. so when we are angry we want to cause damage to the things that make us angry. if that thing is intangible (like a character in game) we have to resort to other things.
As for self mutilation - its pain your seeking. Pain overrides emotions, makes brains release natural anesthetic and distract you from the source of anger.
I have to admit i fantasized about flipping cars when angry ever since i saw a man actually do that. Sometimes it forms a way of imagining me explode in a atom bomb fashion taking the neighboarhood around.
In reality, i suppress rage outbursts when comunicating with people. when in gaming i would smash my keyboard or throw mice in nondecript direction. but the chicony keyboards are damn resistant to anything (the number of different liquids it seem would be hard to count) and they work just like before. cant do that now, i mostly use laptop, and smashing that... wont end well. so mouse suffers. though i never actually broke it. fisting wall also helps due to pain aspect.
Im not an angry person though, so that rage is not as big as youd imagine.