Shamed into anger? The relation of shame and guilt to anger and self-reported aggression.

The relation of shame and guilt to anger and aggression has been the focus of considerable theoretical discussion, but empirical findings have been inconsistent. Two recently developed measures of affective style were used to examine whether shame-proneness and guilt-proneness are differentially related to anger, hostility, and aggression. In 2 studies, 243 and 252 undergraduates completed the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory, the Symptom Checklist 90, and the Spielberger Trait Anger Scale. Study 2 also included the Test of Self-Conscious Affect and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. Shame-proneness was consistently correlated with anger arousal, suspiciousness, resentment, irritability, a tendency to blame others for negative events, and indirect (but not direct) expressions of hostility. Proneness to "shame-free" guilt was inversely related to externalization of blame and some indices of anger, hostility, and resentment.     

What is anger provoking?—Provokers and provoked in anger situations: Developmental trends and sex differences

Some structural properties of situations, described as anger-provoking by teenagers, were investigated. The study was directed toward exploring developmental trends and sex differences with respect to who was the provoker and who was provoked in the described situations. A simple classification, identical for both situational properties (provoker and provoked) was formed. The results showed that at age 18 years there was no sex difference in any of the aspects investigated. At age 12 years boys seemed to be more general than girls in their views on provokers. With increasing age the provoked in the described situations was more often someone else than the describing subject. This is interpreted as corroborating the often proposed relatedness between anger and morality.     

Does quick to blame mean quick to anger? The role of agreeableness in dissociating blame and anger

Two studies investigated agreeableness, the accessibility of blame, and their potential interactive effects on anger. To measure the chronic accessibility of blame, a choice reaction time task was created that required participants to classify words as blameworthy or not. It was found that for individuals low in agreeableness, blame accessibility was positively related to anger and arguments during the course of daily life, hostile feelings during the course of a semester, and anger in response to a short video involving a blameworthy action. This same straightforward relationship between the accessibility of blame and anger did not characterize those high in agreeableness. The results suggest that agreeableness plays an important role in facilitating (low agreeableness) or inhibiting (high agreeableness) the link between accessible blame and anger.     

Don’t look back in anger: A cross-sectional and dyadic examination of the Dark Triad,anger, and aggression in athletes

ObjectivesThe Dark Triad (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) has been linked to anti-social behaviour in sport, and while anti-social behaviour often involves aggression and violence, no research to date has examined the relationship between the Dark Triad and anger and aggression in athletes. The current two-sample study sought to address this gap.DesignMulti-sample cross-sectional design.MethodSample 1 included 224 athletes (M_AGE = 23.85) and Sample 2 included 98 coach-athlete dyads (196 total; athlete M_AGE = 18.15, coaches M_AGE = 34.84). In both samples, facets of the Dark Triad were related to anger and aggression.ResultsIn Sample 1, regression analyses indicated that psychopathy positively predicted both anger and aggression and Machiavellianism positively predicted aggression. In Sample 2, actor-partner interdependence models indicated a combination of dyadic relationships (i.e., both actor [coach and athlete personality predicted their own anger and aggression] and partner effects [coach and athlete personality predicted the other’s anger and aggression]). In this regard, actor effects were found between psychopathy and both anger and aggression and narcissism and aggression. Coach to athlete partner effects were found for narcissism and anger and Machiavellianism and aggression.ConclusionsOverall, the findings provide evidence for personal and interpersonal relationships between the Dark Triad and anger and aggression and highlight the potential for the darker side of both athlete and coach personality to influence athlete emotions.     

Honor and harmed social-image. Muslims’ anger and shame about the cartoon controversy

Two studies examined anger and shame, and their associated appraisals and behavioral intentions, in response to harm to an in-group's social-image. In Study 1, 37 British Muslims (18 men, 19 women) reported incidents in which they were devalued as Muslims. In Study 2, 108 British Muslims (57 females, 50 males, 1 undisclosed) were presented with objective evidence of their in-group's devaluation: the controversial cartoons about Prophet Muhammad The appraisal of harm to social-image predicted anger and shame (Studies 1 and 2), whereas the appraisal of offense only predicted anger (Study 2). Anger was a more empowering response than shame, as anger predicted willingness for public confrontation (Studies 1 & 2), institutional punishment (Study 2), and written disapproval (Study 2). In contrast, shame only predicted written disapproval (Study 2). Furthermore, independent of individual differences in identification as Muslim, a mediation model showed that individual differences in honor orientation predicted anger and shame via the appraisals (Study 2). Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

Dyadic association between aggressive pretend play and children’s anger expression

This study investigates the association between children’s peer-reported expression of anger and their pretend play with aggressive/negative themes observed during spontaneous play with classmates. Participants comprised 104 Chinese children (M_age = 8.98 years, SD = 0.97, 49% girls) and were filmed playing in peer dyads with toys. Aggressive and non-aggressive negative pretend themes were coded at five-second intervals for 10 minutes. Children’s expression of anger in real situations was reported by peers. Analysis using actor–partner interdependence modelling (APIM) revealed significant partner effects, indicating that children were more likely to engage in pretend play with aggressive themes when they were playing with a partner who was perceived by their peers as more easily angered. It was also found that boys were more likely to engage in pretend play with both aggressive and non-aggressive negative themes compared with girls.     

Intent to harm or injure? Gender and the expression of anger

Gender differences in aggressive behaviour but not in anger suggest that women may express anger through behaviours that lack intent to harm or injure. Angry behaviours (injurious and noninjurious) were rated in terms of their likelihood of use when angry (N=888). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a direct aggression factor and two further scales: explosive acts (e.g. throwing objects when alone) and defusing acts (e.g. talking to a third party). Men exceeded women on direct aggression and explosive acts, whereas women exceeded men on defusing acts. Expressive beliefs about aggression (as a loss of self-control) were higher among women and strongly associated with use of defusing acts and the avoidance of direct aggression. Instrumental beliefs about aggression (as a means of control over others) were higher among men and showed the opposite pattern of associations. We highlight the need for further work on actors' intention in relation to angry behaviours and the impact of context on these intentions.     

What is anger provoking? A psychophysical study of perceived causes of anger

From a pool of nearly 900 situations, anonymously described by young people from prepuberty to adolescence as anger provoking, 60 situations were randomly drawn. Twelve advanced students of psychology independently rated the similarity between each possible pair of situations with respect to the perceived cause of anger. The resultant averaged similarity matrix was subjected to factor analysis, and ten factors were deemed an optimal solution, both psychologically and statistically. The factor structure is described and discussed, and other findings of situational dimensions, not made explicit by the factor analysis, are also discussed.     

Could mindfulness decrease anger,hostility, and aggression by decreasing rumination?

Research suggests that rumination increases anger and aggression. Mindfulness, or present‐focused and intentional awareness, may counteract rumination. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the relations between mindfulness, rumination, and aggression. In a pair of studies, we found a pattern of correlations consistent with rumination partially mediating a causal link between mindfulness and hostility, anger, and verbal aggression. The pattern was not consistent with rumination mediating the association between mindfulness and physical aggression. Although it is impossible with the current nonexperimental data to test causal mediation, these correlations support the idea that mindfulness could reduce rumination, which in turn could reduce aggression. These results suggest that longitudinal work and experimental manipulations mindfulness would be worthwhile approaches for further study of rumination and aggression. We discuss possible implications of these results. Aggr. Behav. 36:28–44, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Who’s more angry? Comparing driver anger and aggression within work and personal driving contexts

Anger and driver aggression increase crash risk. However, how these manifest according to the purpose of the journey (work vs personal) and the unique relationships between sources of anger and aggressive expressions of that anger is under-researched. The current study examined the relationships between different types of anger and aggression, recent crashes and infringements between drivers who drive mainly for work with those who drive mainly for personal reasons.Participants (N = 630) completed an online questionnaire reporting their driving anger tendencies across situations of travel delays, danger and hostility from others, frequency of aggressive driving (using the vehicle, verbal or physical) and crash and infringements in the previous year. Drivers were classified as work or personal drivers based on the percentage of the time they drove for each reason. Relationships between anger sources and aggression types were examined using Structural Equation Modelling, comparing models between the two groups. The relationships between aggression and safety outcomes were explored using Mann-Whitney U tests.The relationships between anger and aggression were similar across work and personal drivers. However, some group differences in the situations that contributed to anger and aggression were identified. Aggression was more frequent for drivers who drove mainly for work and had received a traffic violation, compared to those who had not received a traffic violation.These findings can inform the development of targeted interventions to manage the triggers of anger and aggression. Interventions are likely to impact work and personal drivers; thus, could target employers and road transport authorities.     

Anger and asymmetrical frontal cortical activity: Evidence for an anger–withdrawal relationship

Anger has been associated with relative left frontal cortical activity, reflecting its approach (vs. withdrawal) motivational tendency. However, there may be contexts in which anger is associated with withdrawal motivation and, hence, relative right frontal cortical activity. Based on past research, we hypothesised that for some individuals, interracial interactions may be one such context, as societal pressure to be politically correct dictates that anger should not be expressed. Thus, in the context of an interracial interaction, the experience of anger may coincide with a desire to withdraw from the situation. Cortical activity was measured while White participants anticipated an interracial interaction. Consistent with expectations, self-reported anger was associated with relative right frontal cortical activity. In general, the motivational correlates of anger may be partially determined by the specific attributes of the person and the social context in which anger occurs.     

Why do fear and anger look the way they do? Form and social function in facial expressions

The origins of the appearances of anger and fear facial expressions are not well understood. The authors tested the hypothesis that such origins might lie in the expressions' resemblance to, respectively, mature and babyish faces in three studies. In Study 1, faces expressing anger and fear were judged to physically resemble mature and babyish faces. Study 2 indicated that characteristics associated specifically with babyishness are attributed to persons showing fear, whereas characteristics associated with maturity are attributed to persons showing anger. In Study 3, composite faces were used to minimize the possibility that the attributions were based on associations to the anger and fear emotions alone rather than to the physical resemblance of the expressions to static facial appearance cues. These results suggest that fear and anger expressions may serve socially adaptive purposes for those who show them, similar to the social adaptations associated with a babyish or mature facial appearance.     

Can implicit appraisal concepts produce emotion-specific effects? A focus on unfairness and anger

This research examined whether the non-conscious activation of an implicit appraisal concept could affect responses associated with the corresponding emotion as predicted by appraisal theories. Explicit and implicit emotional responses were examined. We focused on implicit unfairness and its effect on anger. The results show that subliminal activation of implicit unfairness affected implicit anger responses (anger facial expression and latency responses to anger words) but not explicit anger feelings (i.e., reported anger). The non-conscious effect of implicit unfairness was specific to anger, as no effect on sadness, fear, and guilt was found.     

Measuring aggressiveness and anger,but not aggression? A response to the CAAS critique

ObjectivesThe Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale (CAAS) was developed to measure antecedents of aggression in sport. The critique attacks the CAAS on three points: (1) the definition of aggression in sport adopted, (2) the “one size fits all” element in the thinking behind the scale's development, (3) the nature of the CAAS Anger and Aggressiveness items. The objectives of this response is to address misunderstandings in the critique.MethodsWe identified a number of false assumptions that undermine the validity of the critique and attempt to clarify our position with respect to the criticisms made.Results(1) The CAAS is being criticised for a definition that it did not use. (2) We accepted that the CAAS may not be suitable for everyone in our limitations section and fully accept the limitations of any scale. We have since undertaken a large research project to establish whether the scale is valid across and within specific sports. (3) The fundamental misunderstanding inherent throughout the critique is that the CAAS was designed as a measure of aggression, rather than anger and aggressiveness, rendering the critique of its items redundant.ConclusionsThe critique misrepresents the authors of the CAAS and fails to present a coherent argument against its use. We hope to clarify our position here. The evidence to date suggests that the CAAS is a valid measure of anger and aggressiveness in many sports and that these concepts reliably differentiate players who admit unsanctioned aggression from those who do not.     

Do Guyanese mothers' levels of warmth moderate the association between harshness and justness of physical punishment and preschoolers' prosocial behaviours and anger?

This study assessed the moderating role of Indo‐Guyanese mothers' warmth and affection on the associations between harshness and justness of physical punishment and prosocial behaviours and anger in preschoolers. One hundred and thirty‐nine rural Indo‐Guyanese mothers filled out Rohner's Parental Acceptance–Rejection (PARQ) and Physical Punishment Questionnaires (PPQ). Teachers provided assessments of children's prosocial behaviours and anger in preschool settings. Maternal warmth did not moderate the relationship between harshness of physical punishment and children's prosocial behaviours and anger, but it did moderate the relationship between justness of physical punishment and prosocial behaviours for sons as well as the association between justness of physical punishment and anger for daughters. In Caribbean societies where harsh punishment is normative, maternal warmth may work more effectively with justness, and not with harshness of physical punishment, to lower negative childhood behavioural outcomes.     

What is the role of narcissism in the relationship between impulsivity and driving anger expression?

The contributing factors of aggressive driving have been studying in the last decades. Both impulsivity and narcissism are associated with aggressive driver behaviors. Although the role of these two factors were examined in the same studies, the combined role of these two factors hasn’t been studied yet. To understand the combined effect of them, in the present study, the moderated mediation model for examining the relationships of narcissism, impulsivity, and aggressive driver behavior was developed and tested. Three hundred and four participants completed an online survey battery comprised of Demographic Information Form, Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form, Barrat Impulsiveness Scale- Short Form, and Driving Anger Expression Inventory. The moderated mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS macro developed by Hayes and Preacher (2013). The results revealed that only the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and the use of vehicle to express anger is mediated by attentional impulsiveness. Also, this relationship is moderated by grandiose narcissism. In detail, grandiose narcissism moderates the direct effect of vulnerable narcissism on attentional impulsivity and also the direct effect of attentional impulsivity on the use of vehicle to express anger. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings and recommendations for future studies are discussed.     

Do Big Five personality traits associated with self-control influence the regulation of anger and aggression?

This study examined whether Big Five personality traits associated with the ability to exhibit self-control would moderate the anger–aggression link. A total of 126 participants (63 women) completed personality measures. In a separate experimental session, participants wrote an essay and then received either positive or negative feedback from a fictitious participant. Participants were given the opportunity to aggress against the supposed other person. Baseline and post-experimental emotions were assessed. EEG was recorded to measure activity in midfrontal, lateral-frontal, and parietal areas. Results replicated previous findings that anger is associated with left relative to right prefrontal asymmetry and aggression. Conscientiousness was negatively associated with anger and relative left prefrontal asymmetry. Conscientiousness also moderated the link between anger and aggression. Agreeableness was positively associated with anger, but only when levels of conscientiousness were low.     

Do quality teacher–student relationships protect teachers from emotional exhaustion? The mediating role of enjoyment and anger

Social Psychology of Education - Teaching can be an emotionally exhausting profession, thus mechanisms that protect teachers from feeling emotionally overextended need to be investigated. In two...     

Bicultural adolescents' anger regulation: in between two cultures?

This study explored the anger-regulation strategies of bicultural individuals who are brought up with two distinct cultures that might carry contradictory demands about how to regulate emotions. With a sample of 525 adolescents in the Netherlands and Morocco, we found that bicultural Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation in response to hypothetical peer conflict were largely similar to those of their Dutch peers. In fact, both the Dutch and the Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' anger regulation differed in the same ways from the Moroccan group, with greater acting out and less calm verbalisation, reflection, and diversion in the former than in the latter. Additionally, our findings indicate that Moroccan-Dutch adolescents' identification with the Dutch as well as with the Moroccan culture is related to more anger verbalisation and less externalising anger regulation. These results are interpreted in light of the complex cultural position faced by bicultural adolescents.     

Women’s anger, epistemic personhood, and self-respect: an application of Lehrer’s work on self-trust

I argue in this paper that the work of Keith Lehrer, especially in his book Self-Trust has applications to feminist ethics; specifically care ethics, which has become the leading form of normative sentimentalist ethics. I extend Lehrer??s ideas concerning reason and justification of belief beyond what he says by applying the notion of evaluation central to his account of acceptance to the need for evaluation of emotions. The inability to evaluate and attain justification of one??s emotions is an epistemic failure that leads one not to act on one??s own aspirations and desires and treat those desires as if they did not exist. I argue that this is a common condition among women in patriarchal societies because patriarchy can cause women to believe that they are not worthy of their trust concerning what they accept, specifically acceptance of their anger over their own mistreatment. As a result, many women are unable to realize the self-protective role of their anger. All of this reflects a lack of what I shall call epistemic personhood, a concept based on Lehrer??s theory concerning the keystone role of self-trust in the epistemic arch of rationality, justification and knowledge. Lastly, I use this concept of epistemic personhood to develop a care ethical account of self-respect that counters the Kantian account.