Scientists Find That Yelling at AI Chatbots Can Make You Feel Better

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When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go... vent to a chatbot?

Why Researchers Turned to AI for Emotional Support

In an interview with PsyPost about her new study, Singaporean psychology researcher Meilan Hu explained that rapid advancements in chatbot technology prompted her to investigate whether these tools could serve as effective outlets for emotional venting.

“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.”

Study Design and Approach

Published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, Hu’s paper examines the potential of chatbots not as full-fledged therapists, but as accessible sounding boards where people can express frustrations and anxieties in real time.

“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 this idea, Hu and her colleagues recruited 150 Singaporean university students. Participants were randomly assigned to either engage in a back-and-forth text exchange with an “empathetic” AI chatbot or write about their problems in a traditional journal. After a one-week rest period, the groups switched roles, allowing each participant to experience both methods.

Following each session, students completed surveys measuring feelings of loneliness, stress, and perceived social support.

Key Findings on Emotional Relief

As expected, students reported a noticeable reduction in medium- and high-arousal negative emotions—such as fear and anger—after interacting with the AI chatbot compared with journaling. Researchers attribute this benefit to the chatbot’s ability to deliver personalized, real-time responses.

Interestingly, the team observed little difference between chatbot venting and journaling when it came to low-arousal negative emotions like sadness. The chatbots also did not significantly reduce feelings of loneliness or increase perceived social support.

“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” negative emotions, but the research suggests they offer a low-risk option worth trying when human support isn’t immediately available.

Also read: Astronaut explains the real reason why no human has been to the moon in the last 50 years

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