Reassessing the dimensionality of the moral emotions

The dimensionality of the moral emotions was tested to examine whether theoretical distinctions between specific emotions were empirically supported. A total of 720 drink‐driving offenders indicated the degree to which they experienced feelings associated with the moral emotions, in an interview conducted after attending court or a restorative justice conference. Expected distinctions between shame and guilt were not found. Instead the principal components analysis identified three factors: shame‐guilt, embarrassment‐exposure, and unresolved shame. The results also show that shame‐guilt was related to higher feelings of empathy and lower feelings of anger/hostility. It is concluded that differences between shame and guilt may be overstated. Furthermore, it is suggested that the relationship between situational experiences of shame and the disposition to feel it may be more complicated than initially thought.     

Retributive reactions to suspected offenders: the importance of social categorizations and guilt probability

In the current research, the author investigates the influence of social categorizations on retributive emotions (e.g., anger) and punishment intentions when people evaluate suspected offenders as independent observers. It is argued that information that guilt is certain or uncertain (i.e., guilt probability) has different consequences for retributive reactions to ingroup and outgroup suspects. In correspondence with predictions, results of four experiments showed that people reacted more negatively to ingroup than outgroup suspects when guilt was certain but that people reacted more negatively to outgroup than ingroup suspects when guilt was uncertain. It is concluded that guilt probability moderates the influence of social categorizations on people's retributive reactions to suspected offenders.     

The Relationship between Anger Rumination and Aggression in Typically Developing Children and High-Risk Adolescents

This paper examines anger rumination as a risk factor of aggression in typically developing children and high-risk adolescents. Study 1 developed and evaluated the psychometric properties of a self-report measure of children’s anger rumination (Children’s Anger Rumination Scale; CARS) and its association with teacher- and peer-rated overt and relational aggression in school-aged children (n = 254, M age = 10.62). Findings offered support for the reliability and validity of the CARS as well as support for the hypothesis that children who ruminate to anger exhibit elevated levels of overt and relational aggression. Study 2 examined concurrent and prospective relationships between anger rumination and aggression and the moderating effects of trait anger in a sample of male juvenile offenders (n = 119, M age = 16.74). Latent growth curve analyses revealed that the interaction between trait anger and anger rumination predicted initial levels of aggression (i.e., intercept) and changes in aggression over time (i.e., slope). Juvenile offenders who were high in trait anger and ruminated in response to anger exhibited the highest initial levels of aggression. Contrary to our hypothesis, this group did not exhibit greater increases in aggression over time relative to others, but instead they had stably high levels of aggression at each time point. These findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral treatment strategies for aggression may be improved by educating youths about the contributory role of anger rumination in the development of aggression and providing them with adaptive alternatives to coping with feelings of anger.     

Anger vs guilt: inference of responsibility attribution and interpersonal reactions

This study examined reactions toward an expression of anger or guilt. Participants' reactions were assessed after their partner for a collaborative task expressed anger or guilt due to failure on the task. Analysis indicated that participants inferred the attribution of responsibility made by the partner based on the expressed emotions; anger elicited an inference that the partner attributed the failure to the participant, while guilt led to an inference that the partner attributed the failure to the self. Further, expressers of anger were perceived as having more negative traits and were avoided more than those who expressed guilt. Discussion considered negative interpersonal effect of an expression of anger.     

Mastering moral misery: Emotional and coping responses to intragroup morality (vs. competence) evaluations

In social groups, individuals are often confronted with evaluations of their behaviour by other group members and are motivated to adapt their own behaviour accordingly. In two studies we examine emotional responses towards, and perceived coping abilities with, morality vs. competence evaluations individuals receive from other in-group members. In Study 1, we show that evaluations of one's immoral behaviour primarily induce guilt, whereas evaluations of incompetent behaviour raise anger. In Study 2, we elaborate on the psychological process associated with these emotional responses, and demonstrate that evaluations of immorality, compared to incompetence, diminish group members’ perceived coping abilities, which in turn intensifies feelings of guilt. However, when anticipating an opportunity to restore one's self-image as a moral group member, perceived coping abilities are increased and the experience of guilt is alleviated. Together these studies demonstrate how group members can overcome their moral misery when restoring their self-image.     

When feeling bad makes you look good: guilt, shame, and person perception

In two studies, we examined how expressions of guilt and shame affected person perception. In the first study, participants read an autobiographical vignette in which the writer did something wrong and reported feeling either guilt, shame, or no emotion. The participants then rated the writer's motivations, beliefs, and traits, as well as their own feelings toward the writer. The person expressing feelings of guilt or shame was perceived more positively on a number of attributes, including moral motivation and social attunement, than the person who reported feeling no emotion. In the second study, the writer of the vignette reported experiencing (or not experiencing) cognitive and motivational aspects of guilt or shame. Expressing a desire to apologise (guilt) or feelings of worthlessness (private shame) resulted in more positive impressions than did reputational concerns (public shame) or a lack of any of these feelings. Our results indicate that verbal expressions of moral emotions such as guilt and shame influence perception of moral character as well as likeability.     

When feeling bad makes you look good: Guilt,shame, and person perception

In two studies, we examined how expressions of guilt and shame affected person perception. In the first study, participants read an autobiographical vignette in which the writer did something wrong and reported feeling either guilt, shame, or no emotion. The participants then rated the writer's motivations, beliefs, and traits, as well as their own feelings toward the writer. The person expressing feelings of guilt or shame was perceived more positively on a number of attributes, including moral motivation and social attunement, than the person who reported feeling no emotion. In the second study, the writer of the vignette reported experiencing (or not experiencing) cognitive and motivational aspects of guilt or shame. Expressing a desire to apologise (guilt) or feelings of worthlessness (private shame) resulted in more positive impressions than did reputational concerns (public shame) or a lack of any of these feelings. Our results indicate that verbal expressions of moral emotions such as guilt and shame influence perception of moral character as well as likeability.     

Workplace Expression of Emotions and Escalation of Commitment1

These studies examined the effects of expressions of anger and guilt in the workplace on escalation of commitment. Study 1 examined the relationship between employees' reports of coworkers' emotion expressions and continued investment in a poorly performing subordinate. Study 2 tested the effects of leader expressions of anger and guilt on continued investment in a failing project. Results of both studies demonstrate that expressions of anger lead to greater escalation of commitment, while expressions of guilt lead to de‐escalation. Experimental results indicate that the effects of emotion expressions on escalation are strongest when individuals are collectively responsible for the initial decision, a finding that was mediated by feelings of psychological safety.     

Motivated by guilt and low felt trust: The impact of negotiators' anger expressions on the implementation of negotiated agreements

Prior research has identified benefits from certain emotion tactics in negotiation, particularly expressing anger to achieve short‐term gains. We demonstrate that such tactics can be strategically problematic due to their impact on an actor's emotions and felt trust. Through five studies, we find that negotiators' use of anger tactics during a negotiation increased their feelings of guilt and reduced the extent to which they felt trusted by their counterpart following the negotiation. We found this guilt to be the result of their aggressive tone and how they treated their counterpart. The guilt and diminished felt trust in turn motivated negotiators to engage in greater cooperative behaviors during the deal implementation process that benefited their counterpart, even if doing so was costly to the negotiator. Our results demonstrate that negotiator guilt and felt trust resulting from anger tactics influence the dynamic relationship between negotiators and their counterparts. This in turn has strategic implications for negotiators, who attempt to mitigate these negative feelings during the crucial implementation phase of a negotiated agreement.     

A Comparison of Perceptions of Love,Guilt, and Anger in Ireland and the United States: Implications for Counseling

This study compared 50 Irish and 50 American graduate and undergraduate psychology and counseling students on the ways they rated feelings of love, anger, and guilt on a semantic differential. A 2 × 2 × 2 multivariate analysis of variance was used in which the independent variables were class, gender, and country and the dependent variables were the semantic differential scales used for this research. It was found that the undergraduate students from Ireland evaluated the concepts of anger and guilt more positively than did the undergraduate students from the United States.     

The causal influences of attributions on emotions: a procedural priming approach

According to attributional theories of emotion, feelings of guilt presuppose that the causes of a negative event are located within the individual (internal attribution), whereas feelings of anger presuppose that the causes of the eliciting event are located outside the individual (external attribution). This study tested whether these attributions in fact exert the claimed causal influence on emotional experiences. The study employed a procedural priming technique in which neutral events were repeatedly attributed either to oneself (internal attribution) or to another person (external attribution). Subsequently, participants were exposed to a negative event that was ambiguous as to its causes. The results reveal that the prior repeated use of internal attributions enhanced the tendency to experience guilt, whereas the repeated use of external attributions enhanced the tendency to experience anger. These findings support the assumption that attributions exert a causal influence on emotions.     

Psychological Variables Associated with Pain Perceptions Among Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Pain

Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between selected psychological variables and pain perceptions in 103 individuals experiencing chronic pain following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Previous studies have suggested strong relationships between psychological variables and chronic SCI pain, but further delineation of such relationships is needed in order ultimately to develop more effective pain management strategies for individuals afflicted with such pain. Anger was found to be significantly related to perceptions of pain (p < .05), but neither guilt nor anger suppression was significantly associated with perceived pain. Internal health locus of control was associated with decreased pain perceptions (p < .05), but there was no significant relationship between internal health locus of control and anger. Punishing responses from significant others to pain complaints were related to feelings of guilt (p < .05) and perceived pain (p < .05), but this relationship was not mediated by guilt.     

When stepping outside the self is not enough: A self-distanced perspective reduces the experience of basic but not of self-conscious emotions

Despite recent increased interest in self-conscious emotions, few studies have investigated their regulation. The current research examines the effectiveness of self-perspective in regulating negative self-conscious (guilt, shame) versus basic (anger, sadness) emotions. We predict that adopting a distanced perspective on the self would attenuate the experience of anger and sadness, as previous research has shown (e.g., Kross et al., 2005). However, because the experience of self-conscious emotions involves self-evaluation as well as the evaluation of the self from the perspective of others, a self-distanced perspective may enable these emotions and fail to attenuate the experience of shame and guilt. As predicted, a self-distanced perspective attenuated feelings of sadness and anger, but not of shame and guilt. These findings suggest the appraisal of the experienced emotion (i.e., whether it involves self-evaluations and/or the perspective of others) may influence the effectiveness of emotion-regulation strategies.     

Being angry for different reasons: the role of personality in distributive justice

The present research examines personality predictors of anger in response to unfavorable and favorable outcomes with regard to violations of the distributive justice principle of equality. Two studies showed that feelings of anger in response to equality violations were related to neuroticism and agreeableness, albeit for different reasons. Depending on whether the equality violation was favorable or not, anger could be predicted by either feelings of threat or guilt for neuroticism and perceptions of responsibility for agreeableness. These findings add to the literature on boundary conditions of justice and reveal how core personality dimensions contribute to emotional reactions in distributively unjust situations, even if the outcome is personally favorable.     

Coping with the 10th anniversary of 9/11: Muslim Americans' sadness,fear, and anger

The events of 9/11 marked an increase in prejudice, discrimination, and other forms of unfair treatment toward Muslim Americans. We present a study that examined the emotions of Muslim Americans in the days preceding the ten-year 9/11 anniversary. We measured the antecedents (concerns) and consequences (coping) of sadness, fear, and anger. The 9/11 anniversary precipitated intense concerns with loss and discrimination, and intense feelings of sadness, fear, and anger. We measured three coping responses: rumination, avoidance of public places, and religious coping. Participants engaged in all three coping responses, with seeking solace in one's religion being the most frequent response. Moreover, emotions mediated the relationship between concerns and coping responses. Sadness accounted for the association between concern with loss and rumination. Fear explained the association between concern with discrimination and avoidance. Anger accounted for the association between concern with discrimination and religious coping.     

Intentionality,anger, coping,and ego defensiveness in reactive aggressive driving

A motivational sequence was used as a theoretical framework for studying reactive aggressive driving. Study 1 tested the validity of the sequence “perceived intentionality‐anger‐reactive aggressive driving” and assessed the impact of coping on anger and reactive aggressive driving. The ecological validity of the same sequence was verified in Study 2 with a large sample of adult drivers, while examining the role of ego defensiveness as a determinant of anger and aggressive driving. Study 1 showed the proposed sequence was supported and that coping strategies intervened at both anger and reaction levels, depending if the situation was perceived as intentional or not. Study 2 showed that anger mediated the impact of coping and ego defensiveness on driving aggression. Sobel tests confirmed the anger mediation effect in both studies.     

Psychopathic traits in adolescent offenders: an evaluation of criminal history, clinical, and psychosocial correlates

Although a large body of research has established the relevance of psychopathy to adult offenders, its relevance to adolescent offenders is far less clear. The current study evaluated the clinical, psychosocial and criminal correlates of psychopathic traits in a sample of 226 male and female incarcerated adolescent offenders. According to an 18-item version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Youth Version (PCL-YV; Forth, Kosson, & Hare, 2003), only 9.4% exhibited a high level of psychopathic traits (PCL-YV>/=25). Consistent with past research, higher PCL-YV scores were positively associated with self-reported delinquency and aggressive behavior and were unrelated to emotional difficulties. Although higher PCL-YV scores were associated with the experience of physical abuse, the only psychosocial factor to predict PCL-YV scores was a history of non-parental living arrangements (e.g. foster care). In terms of criminality, a violent/versatile criminal history was positively associated with psychopathic traits. However, PCL-YV scores were unrelated to participants' official criminal records for total, non-violent, violent, and technical violation convictions. In conclusion, the data partially support the construct validity of psychopathy with adolescent offenders, but some inconsistencies with prior adult and adolescent psychopathy research were evident. These issues are discussed.     

When Unfair Treatment Leads to Anger: The Effects of Other People's Emotions and Ambiguous Unfair Procedures1

The present research examines how emotions of a third party interacting with an authority who has treated him or her unfairly affect one's feelings of anger toward the authority as a function of the ambiguity of the unfair treatment. Across a scenario and a laboratory study, it was found that when participants did not receive voice and it was unclear whether this was the result of an authority's unfair intentions, participants were less angry when the third party expressed shame, rather than anger, toward the same enacting authority. A second laboratory study replicated this effect, but now by showing that one's feelings of anger (in the case of ambiguity) were lower when the other person expressed guilt, relative to anger.     

压力和应对策略在女性大学生负性情绪产生中的作用

通过对239名女性大学生的问卷调查,探讨了不同类型的压力和应对策略在负性情绪产生中的作用及其特点。结果表明:(1)压力和应对策略作用于负性情绪的过程模型既存在差异性又存在一致性。学业压力可以直接作用于负性情绪,也可通过消极解决问题策略的中介间接作用于负性情绪;经济压力主要通过消极解决问题和寻求支持策略的中介间接作用于负性情绪;人际压力对负性情绪的产生具有直接作用,也通过消极解决问题和寻求支持策略的中介间接作用于负性情绪;(2)在三种压力情境下,消极解决问题和寻求支持策略对负性情绪的产生均具有重要作用。     

Coping dimensions, life stress, and adolescent substance use: a latent growth analysis

The relation of seven coping dimensions to substance (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana) use was tested with a sample of 1,668 participants assessed at mean age 12.5 years and two yearly follow-ups. An associative latent-growth model showed one index of engagement (behavioral coping) to be inversely related to initial level of adolescent use and growth over time in peer use. Three indices of disengagement (anger coping, helpless coping, and hangout coping) were positively related to initial levels of peer use and adolescent use and to growth in adolescent use. Life stress was positively related to initial levels for peer use and adolescent use and to growth in adolescent use. Moderation tests indicated that effects of coping were significantly greater at higher level of stress; behavioral coping buffered the effects of disengagement. Effects of life stress were greater for girls than for boys. Results are discussed with reference to mechanisms of coping-substance use relationships.