Increasing Anger Log Use During School Among Middle School Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

ABSTRACT

Although anger management programs often promote the use of anger logs as an alternative to aggressive behavior, researchers have not studied whether or not these programs actually increase anger log use. Thus, this study examines the impact of In Control, a classroom-based curriculum with 10 weekly 30-minute sessions, on the frequency of anger log use between sessions. Study participants were all of the students attending a middle school for emotional/behavioral disorders. Twenty-seven students received the In Control program, and 19 equivalent students did not. While anger logs were visibly available in all of the classrooms, the students who received the In Control program completed significantly more logs between sessions than did the nonprogram students. During a 4-month follow-up, the 19 program students who received monthly booster sessions continued to fill out significantly more logs than did the nonprogram students. These findings suggest that In Control can increase the use of a log to record anger-provoking episodes by middle school students with serious emotional/behavioral disorders, both in between training sessions and during follow-up, if booster sessions are provided.     

Anger In Or Out,Which Is Healthier? An Attempt To Reconcile Inconsistent Findings

Abstract

A survey of the literature concerning the relationship between style of anger expression and health disorders does not lead to a clear-cut conclusion. Some studies suggest that the outward expression of anger (anger-out) contributes to health problems of various types, while others present evidence suggesting that it is the suppression of anger (anger-in) which contributes to health problems. The present study examined three conceivable explanations for the contradictory evidence produced in this research area: (1) different aspects of anger expression are differentially related to the individual's health; (2) the pattern of anger expression is related differentially to health disorders of different types; (3) the degree of matching between the individual's style of anger expression and social desirability accounts for the inconsistency in the empirical findings. A sample of 134 men underwent comprehensive medical examinations and also filled in several anger expression questionnaires. The results supported the first hypothesis, namely that intensity of anger expression was negatively correlated with ill health while frequency of anger expression was positively correlated with ill health. No support was found for the hypothesis that anger expression relates differentially to health disorders of different types. However, the matching hypothesis was confirmed in part. It was found that individuals low on both intensity of anger expression and social desirability reported the highest frequency of health problems. The theoretical significance of these findings and their practical implications are discussed.     

Associations of perceived stress and state anger with symptom burden and functional status in patients with heart failure

Abstract

Background: Psychosocial stress and anger trigger cardiovascular events, but their relationship to heart failure (HF) exacerbations is unclear. We investigated perceived stress and anger associations with HF functional status and symptoms.

Methods and Results: In a prospective cohort study (BETRHEART), 144 patients with HF (77% male; 57.5?±?11.5 years) were evaluated for perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale; PSS) and state anger (STAXI) at baseline and every 2 weeks for 3 months. Objective functional status (6-min walk test; 6MWT) and health status (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire; KCCQ) were also measured biweekly. Linear mixed model analyses indicated that average PSS and greater than usual increases in PSS were associated with worsened KCCQ scores. Greater than usual increases in PSS were associated with worsened 6MWT. Average anger levels were associated with worsened KCCQ, and increases in anger were associated with worsened 6MWT. Adjusting for PSS, anger associations were no longer statistically significant. Adjusting for anger, PSS associations with KCCQ and 6MWT remained significant.

Conclusion: In patients with HF, both perceived stress and anger are associated with poorer functional and health status, but perceived stress is a stronger predictor. Negative effects of anger on HF functional status and health status may partly operate through psychological stress.     

Driving stimuli increases accessibility of aggression-related concepts in “angry” drivers

Stimuli present in aversive situations (even initially neutral stimuli) can become associated with aggressive feelings and thoughts become capable of acting as cues for aggressive thoughts. The present research examined whether driving stimuli can serve as triggers for aggression-related concepts for individuals predisposed to becoming angry while driving (i.e., high in self-reported trait driving anger). Using the General Aggression Model (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) as a guide, two studies demonstrated that participants high in trait driving anger responded more quickly to aggressive words when paired with driving than neutral stimuli. There were no differences in primes for nonaggressive words and nonwords. Study 2 also found that, for participants high in driving anger, increased accessibility of aggressive words following driving primes predicted self-reported anger in a provoking driving scenario.     

Roadway justice – Making angry drivers,happy drivers

The enforcement of traffic laws by police punishes law violators and reduces the likelihood that other drivers will violate laws via vicariously perceived punishment. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of punishment of violators on the feelings of anger and happiness in witnesses and victims. A sample of 279 individuals was exposed to four animated simulations of unjust driving behavior. Participants indicated how angry and happy the behaviors made them feel. Participants then indicated feelings of happiness and anger a second time, after being informed that the violator had been punished. While inconsistent, analyses generally indicated that perceived punishment reduced feelings of anger and increased feelings of happiness. In addition to increasing roadway safety, the current study shows the importance of active police enforcement, which could positively impact the emotional states of victims and witnesses of unjust driving behavior.     

Mellow Monday and furious Friday: The approach-related link between anger and time representation

Time can be represented spatially in two prevalent metaphors; ego-moving has the self moving “forward” towards the future while time-moving has the future moving “forward” towards the self. Anger also is represented spatially by an approach-related motivation. Because time and anger share an approach-related spatial representation, we hypothesised a link between anger and the ego-moving time perspective. In Study 1, participants naturally adopting an ego-moving representation of time had higher trait anger than those adopting a time-moving representation. Study 2 showed that processing an angry event (vs. an emotionally neutral event) predicted more ego-moving spatial interpretations of time. In Study 3, a scheduling task priming ego-moving (vs. time-moving) time representation prompted higher state anger. Our results reveal a novel bi-directional link between the seemingly unrelated but similarly embodied abstract domains of anger and time.     

Emotional Policy: Personal Sadness and Anger Shape Judgments about a Welfare Case

When making decisions about a welfare case, it is reasonable for one's thoughts and feelings about the potential welfare recipient to influence the decision. It is less reasonable for one's "incidental" feelings (e.g., sadness or anger arising from an event in one's personal life) to influence such decisions. In two studies, however, data reveal that incidental anger and sadness do in fact carry over, shaping welfare policy preferences. Study 1 found that incidental anger decreased the amount of welfare assistance participants recommended providing relative to neutral emotion, whereas sadness increased the amount recommended. Study 2 replicated the results and found that limiting participants' cognitive resources eliminated the difference between sadness and anger, thus implying that differences in depth-of-thought drove the effects. In sum, the results reveal ways in which: (a) personal emotions carry over to shape preferences for public policies, (b) emotions of the same valence have opposing effects, and (c) differential depth-of-cognitive-processing contributes to such effects.     

直觉对内隐学习优势效应的特异性贡献

已有人工语法的内隐学习研究中一个关键的问题是被试在不同指导语诱发下究竟形成了什么样的知识表征？实验借助结构知识的测量方式, 采用记忆和规则探索两种指导语, 考察了两组被试所获得的深层知识表征(结构知识)。结果发现：(1)在记忆指导语条件下, 被试获得了语法规则; (2)直觉在记忆指导语条件下贡献突出, 表现出特异性。该结果表明记忆指导语引发了被试基于直觉区分人工语法规则的内隐学习优势效应。     

愤怒的聚光灯效应对个体新闻阅读的归因影响

最初情绪的聚光灯理论仅从效价角度出发,解释了情绪通过影响注意范围,干涉个体归因,没有针对其它情绪（譬如愤怒）做进一步验证。本研究通过2（情绪）×2（因素显著性）×2（性别）的被试间实验设计,进一步揭示了愤怒的聚光灯效应对个体新闻类信息归因的影响方式。共有243名在校学生参加实验,其中男生99名,年龄在19~25岁之间。本研究将原有的锚式（anchor）归因计分改为对显著和非显著信息独立计分。结果发现：愤怒对个体归因的影响结果与负性情绪的聚光灯效应相一致,并且具有双向性。一方面增加了对显著因素的归因倾向,一方面抑制对非显著的归因素因倾向,且不存在性别差异。另外,本研究发现新闻中某一信息的显著程度亦会造成归因偏差。本研究为聚光灯理论提供了新的实验支持,并就愤怒效价上的模糊性做了进一步的解释和讨论。     

Boredom proneness in anger and aggression: effects of impulsiveness and sensation seeking

The present study was a replication and extension of Rupp and Vodanovich’s (1997) work on the role of boredom proneness in anger expression and aggression. In addition to replicating their primary analyses, impulsiveness and sensation seeking were included to determine the potential impact of these variables on the relationships between boredom proneness and anger and aggression. Two hundred and twenty-four college student volunteers completed measures of boredom proneness, impulsiveness, sensation seeking, anger expression, and aggression. Findings were consistent with Rupp and Vodanovich (1997) but demonstrated more pervasive effects of external boredom proneness on aggression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the relationships between external boredom proneness and trait anger, anger expression/control, and aggression persisted even after accounting for impulsiveness and sensation seeking. Boredom due to a lack of external stimulation predicted one’s propensity to experience anger, maladaptive anger expression, aggression, and deficits in anger control.