Venting makes people prefer—and preferentially support—us over those we vent about

Abstract

People vent, as when airing grievances about one mutual friend to another. Contrary to a Freudian account, such social venting does not alleviate anger. So, what function might it serve? That people bestow more and more likely support on relatively better-liked friends—support which is associated with greater health, happiness, and economic mobility—highlights a largely overlooked challenge in social groups: competing within the group for certain group members' affections and support. Social venting might be one effective tool for meeting this challenge. We test this—and also compare venting's efficacy with other forms of communication, including a well-studied tactic of partner competition (competitor derogation). In six experiments with U.S. CloudResearch participants (N = 1723), venting causes listeners (people vented to) to prefer venters over targets (people vented about) and to preferentially benefit better-liked venters over targets in a modified Dictator Game. By obscuring the venters' intent to aggress against the target, venting might communicate target-harming information in a way that buffers venters from being perceived unfavorably. Effective venting might thus manipulate listeners' attitudes and behavior in venters' favor.