The angry cognitions scale: a new inventory for assessing cognitions in anger

Abstract

Although cognitive–behavioral therapy is the preferred anger management treatment, research on the cognitive processes associated with anger is relatively sparse. One reason for this has been a lack of adequate measures of the cognitive processes associated with anger. The current study addresses this limitation by developing a theoretically derived instrument to measure the cognitive processes thought to be associated with maladaptive anger. Pilot work identified a set of 72 items written to reflect 5 domains that cut across cognitive theories of anger: overgeneralizing, inflammatory labeling, demandingness, catastrophic evaluation, and misattributing causation. Items were administered to 362 participants and statistical analyses yielded the 54-item Angry Cognitions Scale (ACS). Evidence supporting the construct validity of the ACS was demonstrated through relationships with the experience and expression/control of anger, hostile thoughts, anger consequences, depression and anxiety, and other measures of positive and negative cognitions.