Dictionary of Psychotherapy
Anger
Anger is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility (117).
Expressions of anger vary widely in different individuals. Anger is an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to undo that by retaliation.
Three modalities of anger: cognitive (appraisals), somatic-affective (tension and agitations) and behavioural (withdrawal and antagonism).
Some view anger as part of the “fight or flight” brain response to the perceived threat of harm. Anger becomes the predominant feeling when a person makes the conscious choice to take action to immediately stop the threatening behaviour of another outside force.
The external expression of anger can be found in facial expressions, body language, physiological responses, and at times in public acts of aggression (15).
Anger can mobilize psychological resources for corrective action.
Uncontrolled anger can, however, negatively affect personal or social well-being.
Angry people are more likely to make risky decisions, and make more optimistic risk assessments. In one study, test subjects primed to feel angry felt less likely to suffer heart disease, and more likely to receive a pay raise, compared to fearful people (23).
In inter-group relationships, anger makes people think in more negative and prejudiced terms about outsiders. Anger makes people less trusting, and slower to attribute good qualities to outsiders. They tend to rely more on stereotypes, and pay less attention to details and more attention to the superficial. A person who is angry tends to place more blame on another person for his misery.
Unlike other negative emotions, which focus attention on all negative events, anger only focuses attention on anger-causing events. When subjects were made to feel angry, they expressed more desire to possess that object than subjects who had been primed to feel fear.
Suppression of anger may have harmful effects. The suppressed anger may find another outlet, such as a physical symptom, or become more extreme with sudden, explosive release of suppressed anger. The anger may then be displaced as violence against those who had nothing to do with the matter.
While anger can activate aggression or increase its probability or intensity, it is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for aggression (144).
A person experiencing anger makes a choice. They can respond with hostile action, such as violence, or they can respond with hostile inaction, such as withdrawing or stonewalling. Also they have other options including initiating a dominance contest; harbouring resentment; or working to better understand and constructively resolve the issue. There are a multitude of steps that were researched in attempting to deal with this emotion (15).
Anger as a strategy
The show of anger is likely to be an effective manipulation strategy in order to change and design attitudes. Anger is a distinct strategy of social influence and its use (i.e. belligerent behaviours) as a goal achievement mechanism proves to be a successful strategy (175, 85).
There are recommendations to use Cognitive Behavioural Therapies and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, and Anger Management if required. Counselling and psychotherapy may be provided via Skype and FaceTime in the comfort of your home, office or any place of your choice.
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