Anger behavioral competence in anger-prone individuals

Abstract

Anger-prone and non-anger-prone research participants completed a modified role-play to assess their anger-management strategies. Peer judges rated their responses in terms of competency variables: appropriateness, effectiveness, anger display, and effects on others. Results indicated that anger-prone individuals reported less appropriate and less effective anger-management strategies that had a higher amount of anger displayed and a more negative effect on other people. There were significant interactions between situation type and gender for all dependent variables. Women reported more appropriate and more effective behavior in roommate situations than men. Men and women were perceived as displaying more anger associated with more negative effects on others in romantic partner and roommate situations than in family, friend, and school situations. Implications and assumptions of a proposed “competence approach” to conceptualizing anger behavior are discussed.