"We expect our method to reduce anger to some extent", explained Professor Nobuyuki Kawai from Nagoya University (in central Japan), who led this study published in the British journal "Scientific Reports".

"But we were surprised to find that anger was almost completely suppressed" by this technique of managing emotions, Kawai added in a statement.

"This study shows that physically throwing away a piece of paper containing written (negative) thoughts about the causes of a triggering event neutralizes anger, while simply keeping the piece of paper does not produce this effect", the researchers found.

Approximately 100 students participated in an experiment in which they had to express their opinions in writing about social subjects such as the ban on smoking in public.

Doctoral students then evaluated the papers. However, disregarding the effort put in, they deliberately gave each student low marks for intelligence, interest, writing quality, logic and rationality, with sometimes very harsh comments.

After retrieving their corrected papers, the students had to write down how they felt on a piece of paper. Half of the group then had to tear up the paper and throw it away, while the other half had to keep this paper and set it aside.

Not surprisingly, "all participants became angry after receiving insulting comments". But "the subjective anger of the group that threw away the paper decreased" almost entirely, while that of the group that kept the paper remained elevated, the researchers observed.

"This study is important because being able to control your anger in a family or professional environment can reduce negative consequences in the workplace or in our personal lives", appreciated Nagoya University.