What are the writers' thoughts and feelings about revenge expressed in these two articles? Which arguments are most powerful in convincing the reader that seeking revenge is self- destructive? Revenge: Will You Feel Better? Revenge can be a strong urge, but you may not feel better if you act on it. Understanding how emotions and thoughts influence behaviour is important for people who have intense emotions and are often ruled by them. Knowledge about emotions and the thoughts that strengthen or soften those emotions can help people develop ways to better manage their actions. One urge that people experience but rarely discuss is revenge. Webster's online dictionary defines revenge as to avenge (as oneself) usually by retaliating in kind or degree or to inflict injury in return for something, such as to revenge an insult. The struggle with revenge is centuries old. Shakespeare said, "If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?" Shakespeare clearly thought revenge was as normal and predictable as the sun rising. Maybe, but what about the idea that revenge is self-destructive? Confucius said, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." Gandhi seemed to agree with him when he said, "An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind." Revenge seems to be one of the deepest instincts we have. Who hasn't said, "I hope he gets his," or wished that Karma would strike sooner rather than later? Dirty Harry's "Go ahead, make my day" resonates across generations. Out of control revenge, attack and counterattack, can be blinding and destroy the lives of all involved. But our instincts and emotions usually serve a purpose. Researchers and theorists believe that revenge is a form of establishing justice and that the threat of revenge may serve as a form of protection, a kind of enforcement of social cooperation. Imagine that your neighbour hosts large, overnight parties and his guests continually park so that you can't get out of your driveway. If you believe that your neighbour is a rational person who won't retaliate, you may be tempted to key the guests' cars or smear them with eggs. If you think your neighbour would "come after you," then you are less likely to act on your anger. Maybe the purpose of revenge is in preventing certain hostile actions or the threat of revenge insures people do not hurt you in the future. But sometimes people act revengeful when no good can come of their actions, other than to inflict suffering on others. Those actions can go to unfathomable extremes. From lovers running over a beloved iPhone or destroying what their ex most values, to businessmen damaging the careers of those who have rejected them, to students opening fire in school hallways, revenge can be an act of anger, hurt and ower. eople who have been hurt or betrayed seem to believe without any doubt that if the other party suffers, then ey will feel better--their emotional pain will lessen. Is this true? Revenge Makes You Feel Worse To test whether revenge makes people feel better, Kevin Carismith and his colleagues set up a group investment game with college students where if everyone cooperated, everyone would benefit equally. However, if someone refused to invest his or her money, that person would benefit at the group's expense. A secret experimenter (called a free rider) in each group convinced the group members to invest equally. But when it came time to put up the money, the free riders didn't go along with the agreed-upon plan. As a result, the free riders earned an average of $5.59, while the other players earned around $2.51. Here's the revenge part. Carlsmith offered some groups a way to get back at the free rider: They could spend some of their own earnings to financially punish the group's defector. Everyone who was given the chance for revenge took it. And they predicted that they would feel much better after they got their revenge. The results showed that the students who got revenge reported feeling worse than those who didn't, but believed they would have felt even worse if they hadn't gotten back at the free riders. The students who didn't get the opportunity for revenge said they thought they would feel better if they'd had that opportunity, even though the survey results identified them as the happier group. Both groups thought revenge would be sweet, but their own reported feelings showed that revenge made them less happy. How t