Complaining

[2] It may serve a range of intrapsychic and interpersonal purposes, including connecting with others who feel similarly displeased, reinforcing a sense of self, or a cathartic expression of personal emotion.

[3] Complaining may be a method of notification, especially in the context of a consumer of goods or services, that one party has failed to satisfy normal standards, and is expected to rectify a perceived grievance, such as replacing a defective item.

[4] Complaining may be formalized into an organizational system of filing a written grievance as part of a dispute resolution process.

[5] Alternatively, it may be a purely informal process among friends or acquaintances that allows for the expression and validation of some personal perspective, often referred to as venting.

In the special issue by Heinemann & Traverso (2009),[12] two categories of complaints were investigated in multiple contexts: direct and indirect.

Finally, the acceptance of complaints towards competitors serves the function of building rapport with clients to promote further preference for their own institution.

Bogdan Wojciszke, Wiesław Baryła, Aleksandra Szymków-Sudziarska, Michał Parzuchowski, and Katarzyna Kowalczyk[17] found that when participants listened to or uttered affirmations or complaints, their moods would increase and decrease in equal strength, respectively.

This effect is explained by the underlying mechanism of mood contagion[18] and the dual process theory for social cognition.

Psychologist Lennis Echterling notes that "[m]erely venting negative emotions by screaming or yelling does not have any health benefits.