Iowa State professor of psychology Brad Bushman’s research is going to be featured on ABC’s “20/20” tonight.

Bushman said his research centers around “how to handle anger.”

“It’s specifically whether venting anger is a good thing — whether by punching a pillow or hitting a couch with a plastic baseball bat,” he said.

Bushman, who has been doing research in the field since 1985, said his team’s research shows that venting anger is a negative way to handle problems since it “increases anger and aggression.”

Bushman was interviewed by “20/20” reporter John Stossel.

He said the “20/20” crew spent 12 hours filming footage, although he jokingly noted his interview clip will “probably be like five minutes long.”

Bushman said he felt good about the interview which will air tonight at 7.

“The research is pretty clean and convincing; I don’t know what angle they’ll take with the information,” he said.

This is the second time Bushman’s work has been used in a segment of the news magazine. A portion of his research was used in a piece aired last December.

Bushman said he was somewhat disappointed about the last time he was featured on “20/20” because ISU received limited exposure.

“I was disappointed with the amount of coverage [ISU researchers] received; our research is what triggered that whole program,” he said.

However, he said the reporting was effective.

Since conducting his research, Bushman said about 1,500 people have participated in the study.

Bushman said his team’s research found that the people who refused to vent their anger in a physical way “were better off.”

“The group that did nothing was less aggressive; the group who [got angry] were almost as twice as aggressive,” he said.

Bushman also said when people vent their anger, they’re just conditioning themselves to behave more aggressively.

“They hit; they kick; they scream,” he said. “They’re just learning to be more aggressive. It’s a real bad strategy.”

It is more beneficial to try to “reduce the level of arousal” by doing more passive activities, such as taking a walk or doing a crossword puzzle, Bushman said.

He also admitted that neither approach to anger solves the problem.

“The question is ‘What’s the best way to handle this?'” he said.

Bushman said he hopes viewers of the program discover that doing something constructive is the best way to handle frustration and anger.

“Venting anger is about the worst thing you can do,” he said.