The article, “The Complicated Psychology of Revenge” by Eric Jaffe, says that “The actual execution of revenge carried a bitter cost of time, emotional and physical energy, and even lives” (Jaffe). Even though the revenge tastes good, what about the days and weeks that follow? Behavioral scientists found that revenge can prolong the unpleasantness of the original offense and bringing harm upon an offender his not enough to satisfy a person’s vengeful spirit.

Psychological views toward revenge were based on the large concepts of emotional catharsis. In a 2002 paper, APS Fellow Brad Bushman of The Ohio State University reported higher levels of aggression in people who had supposedly vented their anger than in those who had done nothing at all. People erroneously believe revenge will make them feel better, but “those who don’t have a chance to take revenge are forces, in a sense, to move on and focus on something different. And they feel happier” (Jaffe).

The researchers assessed people’s responses of justice after September 11 attacks, and they found that “more a person had believed in a just world before the attacks, the more this person experienced distress after them” (Jaffe). Based on divergent perceptions of avenger and recipient, they will make it difficult to bring an end to the cycle of revenge in a way that both avenger and recipient will regard satisfying, positive, and fair.

In conclusion, revenge might harm yourself in both mental and physical health. But fortunately, resisting the urge to retaliate is more common in modern civilization. More people get to know the harm of revenge, and also, the body may have evolved some type of internal scale that weights the adaptive benefits of revenge against its various costs, this scale tips in favor of forgiveness.