Anger2
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Research has shown that there is a limited set of “basic emotions” that are fundamentally distinct from one another (Kalat & Shiota, 2007). One of these six basic emotions is anger, an emotional state that is associated with a desire to hurt someone or drive someone away. It is usually acknowledged as an emotional response to an unpleasant and unfair event or condition (Kalat & Shiota, 2007).
When researcher Paul Ekman (1987) and his colleagues studied facial expressions, they discovered that the prototypical “angry face” is an expression that is recognized worldwide. The prototypical angry face consists of opening the eyes wide, forcing eyebrows down and toward the middle of the forehead; the lower eyelids also pull up and toward the inner corner of the eyes, and lips tighten. However, the facial expression does not necessarily have to be present when a person feels angry, because anger is an emotion that can be suppressed (Kalat & Shiota, 2007).
Researchers have not yet come to a complete conclusion on what exactly elicits anger or aggressive behaviors related to anger. However anger has been found to arise mainly when someone has intentionally caused harm to another, especially when the harmful act is done through thoughtlessness or injustice (Kalat & Shiota, 2007). The situation must also be perceived in a negative way, which means cognitive appraisal must be essential when one becomes angry. In these cases, anger often results in what is commonly known as aggression.
According to Robert Plutchik’s (1982) definition of emotion, every emotion has a function, or specific use to our lives. One possible function of anger may be to drive someone away or emotionally harm another individual. If a person is provoked long enough and often enough, anger is more likely to arise as a way to cease the provocation. On the other hand, even though anger is typically known to lead to destructive or disruptive behavior, anger can also be a useful tool in improving social relationships. If two people are interacting with each other and one person unintentionally offends the other, displaying anger can sometimes be used as a communication tool to warn the offender that the acts performed or words that were said were inappropriate. When researching anger, aggressive and harmful behavior is often the primary tool for measurement (Kalat & Shiota, 2007). One way that researchers can identify anger is by observing the brain activity and physiology of an angry person. When a person becomes angry, the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain, will send messages that will activate the adrenal gland and increase the amount of cortisol released into the body. Consequently, activity in the hypothalamus will be increased, which could alter a person’s physiological state, affecting the person’s heart rate and breathing rate.
Example - Research
In a study done by Julie Fitness (2000), “anger experiences” from superiors, co-workers, and subordinates were examined and analyzed to learn more about workplace anger. There were three specific aims to this study. The first aim was to investigate any similarities and differences amongst superior, co-worker, or subordinate-instigated anger. The second aim was to examine behaviors during angry episodes as well as the relationship between an episode’s resolution and the status of the employee. Lastly, the third aim of the study was to investigate the associations between perceived hate intensity and humiliation, power, and episode resolution. The hypotheses for this study were that the employees angered by subordinates would perceive their power at a higher standing than those who are angered by superiors or co-workers, that subordinates would be less likely than superiors to resolve a situation that made them angry, and that humiliating angry experiences would elicit more hate than non-humiliating experiences. All participants were given structured interviews about an anger-eliciting incident experienced at work. Each incident involved social interaction with either a superior, co-worker, or subordinate. After collecting the data, responses were dissected and sorted into categories, based on the type of anger-eliciting event and anger-related behavior. The anger-eliciting events included in this study were unjust treatment, immoral behavior, job incompetence, disrespect, and events that led to public humiliation. The anger-related behaviors included confrontation, withdrawal, revenge, punishment, constructive behaviors, and quitting. Results from this study confirmed the three hypotheses. In general, most of the participants seemed to elicit anger from unjust treatment; subordinates felt they could not confront their superiors, as their superiors were perceived as more powerful; and humiliating anger-related events seemed to generate more hate than non-humiliating events. Implications of this research are that the relationships and interactions between people in the workplace play a critical role in the behaviors and outcomes associated with workplace anger, and that the level or degree of anger is also dependent upon the level of power perceived between employees.
Example – Real-life
In early September 2009, there was an unexpected incident at the Video Music Awards as twenty-year-old country star Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech for winning an award for Best Female Video. Kanye West, a well-known rapper and musical artist, stole the microphone from the young star and proclaimed that Beyonce Knowles, another young music star, had one of the best videos ever made, implying that Taylor Swift’s video was not as good as Knowles’ and should not have won the award.
Kanye West’s interruption of Swift’s speech provides a good example of anger. West found Swift’s win rather unfair and unjust, which is apparent by his statement claiming that Knowles’ video was better. Although we do not know for certain what West’s intentions were, West’s burst of anger could have been an attempt to emotionally harm Swift so he may feel some sense of self-satisfaction, or to warn and inform the audience of how unfair the awards were given.
Based on the research presented on anger, a good way to reduce anger in this event involves the process of cognitive appraisal. If West had not perceived the situation as negative, and instead had focused on accepting Swift as just another winner of an award, he may not have jumped on stage and stolen the microphone. During the awards show, however, the solution made was to immediately remove the source of anger from the situation, kicking Kanye West out and off the premises where the awards show was being held.
References
Fitness, J. (2000). Anger in the workplace: an emotion script approach to anger episodes between workers and their superiors, co-workers and subordinates. Journal of Organizaitional Behavior, 21, 147-162.
Kalat, J. W., & Shiota, M. N. (2007). Emotion (1st edition). Thomson Wadsworth.
Rodriguez, J. (2009, September). Kanye West Crashes VMA Stage During Taylor Swift’s Award Speech. Retrieved February 9, 2009, Website: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1621389/20090913/west_kanye.jhtml
Smith, C. A. & Ellsworth, P. C. (1985). Patterns of Cognitive Appraisal in Emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 813-838.
Verona, E., Sadeh, N., & Curtin, J. J. (2009). Stress-Induced Asymmetric Frontal Brain Activity and Aggression Risk. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118, 131-145.
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