--- title: "Scientists Find That Yelling at AI Chatbots Can Make You Feel Better" description: "Yelling at an AI chatbot about things that make you mad or scared can make you feel less of those emotions, researchers have found." date: "2024-11-23" modified: "2024-11-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/yelling-venting-ai-chatbot-stress" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "anger" - "anxiety" - "mental health" --- # Scientists Find That Yelling at AI Chatbots Can Make You Feel Better ![Yelling at an AI chatbot about things that make you mad or scared can make you feel less of those emotions, researchers have found.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* When you're alone and [life is making you lonely]() you can always go... vent to a chatbot? In an [interview with *PsyPost*]() about her new study, Singaporean psychology researcher Meilan Hu said that advancements in chatbot technology got her wondering whether using them as a venting tool could help people feel better. "AI chatbots have become more advanced such that they are capable of providing human-like responses," Hu, a psychology doctoral candidate at Singapore Management University, told the outlet. "This made me wonder if they could serve as an alternative option for individuals to help process their emotions." Published in the [journal *Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being*](), Hu's paper looks into using chatbots less as a therapist and more as a sort of sounding board to which people could vent their frustrations and anxieties. "I have always found that talking about your frustrations with someone who listens and validates your feelings to be very comforting," she explained. "However, with the increasing prevalence of loneliness across age groups, many individuals may lack access to a trusted, non-judgemental person to talk to." To test out this hypothesis, Hu and her colleagues recruited 150 Singaporean university students, sorting them randomly into groups to either vent in a back-and-forth text exchange with an AI chatbot designed to be "empathetic" or write about their problems in a journal. After a one-week rest period, the students' roles were then reversed, with the chatbot group journaling for the second phase and vice versa. After each session, the participants were asked to fill out a survey about their feelings, and in particular were asked to rate feelings of loneliness, stress, and perceived social support. As the researchers suspected, students reported reduced medium and high-arousal negative emotions — think fear and anger — after their AI chatbot sessions compared to the traditional journaling. According to Hu and her team, this effect may stem from the personalized, real-time responses the chatbot was able to provide them. Interestingly, the psychology researchers found little difference between venting to chatbots and journaling when it comes to low-arousal negative emotions like sadness — and the chatbots didn't seem to help people feel less lonely or more socially supported, either. "While they may not be able to replace the depth of connection you receive from human interactions, our findings still show that venting to AI chatbots may effectively alleviate feelings like anger or fear," Hu said. "This makes AI chatbots a valuable tool for providing temporary emotional relief, especially in moments when you just need someone (or something) to talk to." There's no indication that empathy-trained chatbots can "cure" you of any negative emotions — but hey, it probably won't hurt to try yelling at something that isn't human, either. **More on chatbots and mental health:** [*Teen Dies by Suicide After Becoming Obsessed With AI Chatbot*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()