Hostile Thoughts Research Articles

The relationship between right-wing ideological attitudes and aggression in everyday life

Ample evidence has shown a relationship between right-wing attitudes and ideology-based aggression, yet the question remains whether these attitudes are also associated with aggression in contexts lacking any ideological components. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between right-wing attitudes and aggression in non-ideological, frustrating contexts. Situations which require one to deal with, for instance, drivers who hog the middle-lane and people who “reserve” hotel pool chairs with towels. We administered various vignettes in two samples (total N = 458), and recorded participants' self-reported aggression. The results revealed that authoritarianism and social dominance orientation were positively related to behavioural indicators of interpersonal aggression in these everyday, frustrating contexts. No such significant relationships were obtained for anger and hostile thoughts.

Construct Validity Of Rorschach Space Responses

Background: The diagnostic meaning of the Space response, a Rorschach variable, is far from established. Previous studies on Rorschach Space responses suggested that different figure-ground relationships, shown in the three subtypes of Space responses (Integration, Reversal, and Fusion), could indicate different psychological processes. Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the construct validity of Space responses in a nonclinical sample by exploring the association of the three different types of Space responses with (a) the observer-rated motor, emotional, and cognitive components of aggression; and (b) the direction and emotional regulation of aggression in socially frustrating situations. Methods: The Rorschach Inkblot Method and the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study were administered to 151 volunteers from a nonclinical community sample. The Aggression Questionnaire was administered as an observer-rated version to the participants’ mothers. Correlation analyses were performed to investigate the associations between the three different Space responses, the scores reported on the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study, and the observer-reported scores on the Aggression Questionnaire. Conclusion: This study offers support for differentiating the three types of mutually exclusive Space responses. Space reversal responses were found to be indicative of a propensity to direct aggression outward in the context of frustrating interpersonal situations, whereas Space fusion responses positively correlated with a greater amount of anger feelings and hostile thoughts associated with a deficit in anger and emotional regulation that may contribute to impair reality testing. As with previous studies, no association between S integration responses and anger or aggression was observed.

The neural basis of hostility-related dimensions in schizophrenia.

Hostility and related dimensions like anger, urgency, impulsivity and aggressiveness have been described in non-clinical populations and various serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia. Although representing a mental healthcare challenge, the investigation of such constructs is often limited by the presence of complex and multi-factorial causes and lack of agreement in their conceptualisation and measurement. In this review, we aim to clarify the anatomical basis of hostility-related dimensions in schizophrenia. Imaging studies suggest malfunctioning of a neural circuitry including amygdala, striatum, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula and hippocampus to modulate hostile thoughts and behaviours, at least in the subgroup of patients with schizophrenia who exhibit high levels of urgency, impulsivity and aggressiveness.

Indirect effects of parental and peer attachment on bullying and victimization among adolescents: The role of negative automatic thoughts.

The association between parental and peer attachment and youths' bullying involvement is well documented. However, there is little research examining mechanisms linking the quality of relationships with parents and peers to bullying perpetration and victimization. The present study investigated the indirect effects of attachment to the mother, the father, and peers on bullying and victimization through children's negative automatic thoughts in a sample of 476 adolescents (10-17 years). Path analysis indicated that attachment to both parents as well as attachment to peers was indirectly related to both bullying and victimization through their relationship with adolescents' negative automatic thoughts. When particular cognitive contents of negative automatic thoughts were examined, only hostile thoughts emerged as a mechanism explaining the association between poor relationships with parents and peers and bullying involvement as perpetrator, whereas poor attachment with each socialization agent had an indirect effect on bullying victimization via hostility and social threat thoughts.

Amantadine May Reduce Aggression in TBI Patients

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article PsychopharmacologyFull AccessAmantadine May Reduce Aggression in TBI PatientsJoAnn BlakeJoAnn BlakeSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:26 Dec 2017https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2018.pp11b1AbstractIf carefully administered and monitored, amantadine could have a promising role in reducing aggression in people with chronic brain injury.The antiviral drug amantadine may reduce aggression in people with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI)—defined as symptoms lasting for more than six months post-injury, according to a study published in the September/October issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. The study did not find a beneficial effect on anger, another common behavioral symptom of chronic TBI.While patients reported improvements on amantadine, Flora Hammond, M.D., explained it can take longer for family and friends to conclude that aggressive behavior has changed. Indiana University“Several analyses of participant ratings demonstrated superior improvement in the magnitude and frequency of change in aggression” among individuals who took amantadine 100 mg twice daily compared with placebo, Flora M. Hammond, M.D., chair of the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and colleagues wrote. Each study participant was required to enlist an observer—someone close enough to the participant with TBI to have regular interactions and witness behavior—to answer questions about changes in aggression and anger over the course of the trial. According to the study, the reported decrease in aggression in the amantadine group was based on reports from the perspective of the person with brain injury, not from the observer. “For observers, more so than for participants, the changes in aggressive behavior may need to be sustained over a longer time before observers are willing to conclude that the behavior has changed,” wrote Hammond in an email to Psychiatric News. Substantial improvements were found in both amantadine and placebo groups (70 percent versus 56 percent), suggesting that participation the trial alone had a positive impact on the patients. Aggression can have devastating effects on people’s lives and ability to function, Hammond said. “Having a variety of medications to choose from allows selection of the agent that may be most appropriate for the individual,” she wrote, adding that amantadine is cleared from the body by the kidneys and it should not be given to dialysis patients or individuals with inadequate creatinine clearance. The study included 118 patients with TBI who had moderate to severe aggression at baseline. Of these, 61 were randomized to amantadine and 57 to placebo. Anger and aggression were measured at treatment days 0, 28, and 60 using observer-rated and participant-rated State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Agitation/Aggression domain (NPI-A) Most Problematic and Distress scores. The NPI-A domain asks whether during the preceding month the person “got upset, resisted activities, shouted, cursed angrily, slammed doors, kicked furniture, threw things, hurt or hit others, or was stubborn, uncooperative, or hard to handle.” Anger and aggression are related but are two distinct behaviors tested by the study. “Anger is a state of negative feeling that may be associated with hostile thoughts. Anger may be experienced internally or externally, but aggression is an externally expressed anger. Although anger and aggression may occur concurrently, they are not equivalent,” Hammond wrote. “Aggression may have important links to arousal modulation and function. Thus, medications that enhance arousal could also have modulating effect on aggression. In contrast, anger is likely to be a more static condition, and possibly mediated in part by serotonin,” she commented. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research grant. ■Back to Psychopharmacology Newsletter Table of ContentsBack to Psychopharmacology Newsletter Table of Contents ISSUES NewArchived

Reducing child aggression through sports intervention: The role of self-control skills and emotions

This study examined how sports intervention may reduce aggressive behaviors in children (Grades 3–6), focusing on the relations between acquisition of self-control skills (SCSs) and aggressive behavior through the mediation of thoughts (i.e., hostility) and emotions (i.e., positive and negative). In a sample of 649 Israeli children, 50% were assigned to an experimental group and the remainder to a waitlisted control group. As hypothesized, children in the experimental group reported significantly larger gains in SCSs and significantly larger decreases in physical aggression, hostile thoughts, and negative emotions. Results of structural equation modeling suggested that SCS gains were linked to changes in hostile thoughts, as mediated by changes in both positive and negative emotions. In addition, changes in hostile thoughts were linked to changes in physical aggression through the mediation of changes in anger. Among girls, changes in SCSs were linked directly to changes in physical aggression (with no indirect effect), whereas among boys, changes in SCSs were linked indirectly to changes in physical aggression, through changes in positive and negative emotions. Findings contribute to understanding of possible mechanisms underlying the associations between children's self-control and aggression, with particular implications for the roles of positive and negative emotions.

“Count on me”—The influence of music with prosocial lyrics on cognitive and affective aggression.

Music is an appealing vehicle with which to transmit messages to recipients, inspiring many musicians to promote their own values and norms through their song lyrics. While the idea that music can evoke emotions or express profound ideas is a widely accepted one, the vast majority of research has focused on the possible harmful effects of music: While a great deal of research has been conducted on the effects of aggressive and violent song lyrics (Anderson, Carnagey, & Eubanks, 2003; Gutscher, Schramm, & Wirth, 2011), little is known about the potential positive effects of prosocial music, meaning music with lyrics that deal with prosocial issues like helping, supporting, or donating. Greitemeyer (2009a, 2009b, 2011b) has been the first researcher to consider the possibility that music with prosocial lyrics may enhance empathy and altruism and decrease hostile feelings. If aggressive content increases aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior, one possibility is to wonder whether prosocial content, that fosters positive effects as shown by Greitemeyer, decreases such effects. The primary purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the effects of prosocial music on aggression, with aggression referring to a range of behaviors that can result in both psychological and physical harm to oneself, others, or objects in the environment (Buss, 1961).Greitemeyer (2009a) has noted that the processes underlying the prosocial effects of music are based on broader learning theories, such as the general learning model (GLM) created by Buckley and Anderson (2006). This model predicts that any stimulus (including music) has short- and long-term effects via several learning mechanisms. This model posits a continuous feedback cycle between the recipient and the environment, and suggests that media prosocial content may affect a person's internal state by altering his or her cognition, affect, or arousal. This internal state again influences how situations are perceived, interpreted, and appraised. Eventually, this appraising process leads to a shaping of a person's decision in a social encounter. If the media input is a positive one like prosocial music, it is likely that a prosocial internal state is activated, which most likely leads to a prosocial behavior.1 Unlike the general aggression model (GAM; Anderson & Bushman, 2002), which is the theoretical base of the GLM, the GLM provides information on how human behavior can be affected by media and social learning scenarios in a more general sense, while the GAM describes only the effects of violent media contents on the internal states which can lead to a more aggressive behavior. The GLM assumes that positive media can have positive effects, and first studies showed that positive media like prosocial music can reduce aggression (Greitemeyer, 2011b), which can be regarded as a positive effect, as predicted.Recent LiteratureTo date there have been only a limited number of studies regarding the effects of song lyrics. Regarding the impact of violent or antisocial content, Anderson et al. (2003) conducted a series of studies whose findings indicated that participants who listened to songs with violent content had more hostile thoughts and feelings than persons who listened to a song with neutral lyrics that was otherwise comparable. Several other studies have also indicated that listening to violent songs can increase aggressive behaviors under certain circumstances (Barongan & Hall, 1995; Fischer & Greitemeyer, 2006; Gutscher, Schramm, & Wirth, 2011; Mast & McAndrew, 2011).In the first research into the possible positive effects of prosocial songs, Greitemeyer (2009a) conducted a series of studies on prosocial lyrics, finding that listening to songs with prosocial lyrics increased the accessibility of prosocial thoughts (i.e., the rate of prosocial thoughts that come to mind). Greitemeyer (2009b) also found that listening to such lyrics led to more empathy (an indicator of prosocial feelings) and increased the helping behavior of participants. …

Hostility and emotional load of Tunisian caregivers of Alzheimer patients and its impact on the patient

Introduction The studies on Alzheimer disease highlight the family caregivers burden and his consequences on hostility. Few authors study the burden and the mental health of the caregivers of a demented relative. Aims This study aims at assessing the hostility and emotional load of caregivers of Alzheimer patients and determining the relation between the burden and the psychic health caregivers and its impact on the patient. Methods It is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Patients were recruited from the neurology department of Razi hospital Tunisia between January and June 2013. Consenting caregivers participating in the study were interviewed with a structured survey focused on their socio-demographic characteristics, the characteristics of the aid relationship and the emotional burden felt valued by the Family Attitude Scale (FAS). Results The caregiver was in nearly 60% a child. He lived under the same roof in 78.3% of cases. In 65% of cases, it passes between 12 and 24hours with the patient. FAS score was 52.4±16.16. Thirty-five percent of caregivers had a significant emotional burden (score>60). FAS score was not correlated with the age of the helping relationship, cohabitation with the patient or the number of hours spent with him. The children had a greater emotional charge than spouses ( P =0.001). The wickedness against the patient and abuse, the desire to institutionalize were related to the importance of the emotional charge ( P Conclusions These hostile thoughts are mostly directed against the patient but it can also be directed against oneself causing depression and guilt.

Priming states of mind can affect disclosure of threatening self-information: Effects of self-affirmation, mortality salience, and attachment orientations.

Interviewers often face respondents reluctant to disclose sensitive, embarrassing or potentially damaging information. We explored effects of priming 5 states of mind on willingness to disclose: including 2 expected to facilitate disclosure (self-affirmation, attachment security), and 3 expected to inhibit disclosure (self-disaffirmation, attachment insecurity, mortality salience). Israeli Jewish participants completed a survey including a manipulation of 1 of these states of mind, followed by questions concerning hostile thoughts and behaviors toward the Israeli Arab outgroup, past minor criminal behaviors, and socially undesirable traits and behaviors. Self-affirmation led to more disclosures of all undesirable behaviors than neutral priming, whereas self-disaffirmation led to less disclosures. Mortality salience led to fewer disclosures of socially undesirable and criminal behaviors compared to neutral priming, but more disclosures of hostile thoughts and behaviors toward Israeli Arabs. Security priming facilitated disclosure of hostile attitudes toward Israeli Arabs. However, neither security nor insecurity priming had any other significant effects. (PsycINFO Database Record

Multiple Mediators for Peer-Directed Aggression and Happiness in Arab Adolescents Exposed to Parent–child Aggression

This study aimed to examine a multi-mediator model explaining how exposure to parent-child physical aggression may link with adolescents’ peer-directed physical aggression and their own subjective happiness, in an understudied Israeli Arab population. Mediators included hostility, anger, need to belong, and self-control. Arab adolescents from northern Israel (N = 155; 62 % girls, aged 16-17) completed questionnaires regarding parents’ physical violence toward them, their own aggression toward peers, need to belong, happiness, positive emotions, and selfcontrol skills. (a) Parent-child physical aggression linked positively with peerdirected aggression through the mediating associations of hostility with anger; (b) parent-child physical aggression linked negatively with peer-directed aggression and happiness through the mediation of adolescents’ increased need to belong; and (c) parent-child physical aggression was not directly linked with self-control, but selfcontrol directly linked negatively with peer-directed aggression and positively with happiness. Findings highlight pathways through which parent-child physical aggression may simultaneously influence adolescents’ aggressive behavior and happiness. The mediation detected possible process variables (e.g., yearning for belonging, self-control skills, hostile thoughts, and angry feelings) that researchers and clinicians can consider in designing prevention and treatment interventions to break the inter-generational cycle of violence.

Effects of Thought Suppression on Provoked Men's Alcohol-Related Physical Aggression in the Laboratory.

This study utilized a comprehensive theoretical approach to provide the first data on the impact of thought suppression on provoked men's alcohol-related aggression. A diverse community sample (58% African-American) of males between the ages of 21 and 35 (M = 25.25) were randomly assigned to one of two beverage conditions (i.e., alcohol, no-alcohol control). Following beverage consumption, participants were provoked via reception of electric shocks and a verbal insult from a fictitious male opponent. Participants' physical aggression was measured using a shock-based aggression task. Results indicated that acute alcohol intoxication significantly increased physical aggression among lower, but not higher, thought suppressing men. Results suggest that, under conditions of interpersonal provocation, alcohol intoxication produces a myopic focus on hostile thoughts and angry affect in lower, but not higher, suppression men. This pattern of results provides support for the durability of the alcohol myopia effect and highlights the need for continued examination of alcohol's role in the disruption of protective factors for men's aggression. It is important for research to continue to identify modifiable cognitive variables that influence self-regulation of behavior; however, it is imperative that researchers consider the extent to which these variables withstand alcohol's effects.

Žudikų ir kitus nusikaltimus įvykdžiusių nuteistųjų socialinės informacijos apdorojimo ypatumai1

The study purpose is to compare the characteristics of social information processing demonstrated by adult male offenders convicted for different offences and adult males against whom not a single action has ever been brought. The study involved 131males: 98 convicts (who had committed non-violent, violent / mixed-type offences and murder / mixed-type offences), and 33 control group participants. In order to explore the characteristics of social information processing, the methodology of ambiguous interpersonal interaction situations and the structural interview method was used. Inquiry was performed individually, lasting up to 45 minutes per each participant. The findings showed that convicts, compared to the control group participants, recalled in their accounts of the observed situation a considerably smaller number of significant details (p < 0,001), providing considerably more subjective interpretations of these details (p < 0,01), demonstrating a much higher mean of possible reactions available to the protagonist (p < 0,05), and appraising the protagonist’s pro-social response as proper far less frequently (p ≤ 0,05). Persons convicted for murder / mixed-type offences, in comparison with the ones convicted for non-violent and violent / mixedtype offences, used to describe the protagonist’s feelings as neutral considerably less frequently, describing it as “positive and hostile” much more often (p < 0,05), also, theythought more often that the protagonist would fail to put into practice his response option (p < 0,05).The worked out multinomial logistic regression model showed that protagonist’s aims and thoughts may help to forecast the choice of a hostile response: hostile thoughts emerging in a definite situation may encourage the choice and implementationof hostile responses; similarly, hostile aims may prompt the choice and implementation of hostile and neutral (but not pro-social) responses.So, the findings indicate that: 1) convicts, compared to persons against whom not a single action has ever been brought, process social information in ambiguous situations in a more tendentious way; 2) adult males convicted for various offencesprocess social information in ambiguous situations more or less differently. Further inquiry is needed in order to confirm these tendencies.Key words: persons convicted for different offences, ambiguous social situations, social information processing.

Angry Thoughts and Daily Emotion Logs: Validity of the Angry Cognitions Scale

The Angry Cognitions Scale (ACS; Martin and Dahlen in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Therapy 25:155–173, 2007) was designed to measure six cognitive processes related to anger: misattributing causation, overgeneralizing, catastrophizing, demandingness, inflammatory labeling, and adaptive processes. Preliminary evidence on the reliability of the ACS has been positive, demonstrating that the ACS is correlated with the experience and expression of anger, anger consequences, hostile thoughts, and responses to provocation (Martin and Dahlen in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Therapy 25:155–173, 2007; J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Therapy, 29:65–76, 2011). This previous research, however, has suffered from limitations associated with demand characteristics and the reliance on retrospective data. The current study sought to address these limitations by using daily emotion logs. Results showed that the ACS predicted the daily experience of anger and anger related consequences, contributing to the literature on the ACS as a valuable measure of anger-related cognitions.

The role of developmental features, environmental crises, and personal resources (self-control and social support) in adolescents' aggressive behavior

Aggression among adolescents is a social problem that has sharply escalated in recent years, instigating research into related factors. This article outlines the characteristics of adolescents' aggressive behavior in line with Buss and Perry's (1992) theory linking it to the tendency to develop hostile thoughts and angry emotions. Aggressive behavior may be described as a possible outcome of normal development on the one hand, and as a result of exposure to crisis and trauma on the other. Thus, developmental characteristics highlight the role of age and sex in adolescents' aggressive behavior. In addition, possible external crises and distress (e.g., war, divorce) may contribute to adolescents' aggression. This article also identifies two possible resources that may contribute to a reduction in aggressive behavior under normal and crisis conditions: social support as an environmental resource, and self-control as a personal resource. We conclude with suggestions for reducing aggression through a unified intervention setting that integrates developmental features, environmental and family components, as well as personal components.

Predicting aggressive driving behavior from anger and negative cognitions

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the anger experience and expression, as well as cognitive distortions, of individuals who self-report higher and lower levels of driver aggression. Fifty-seven higher driver aggression participants and 73 lower driver aggression participants completed measures of trait anger, driving anger, anger expression, angry thoughts while driving, hostile thoughts, and dysfunctional attitudes. The present study results suggest that higher aggression drivers demonstrate a different pattern of affective experience, problematic cognitive tendencies, and subsequent negative outcomes in comparison to those reporting lower levels of aggression. Future research should continue to investigate patterns of negative cognitions for aggressive drivers, in order to inform treatment and prevention strategies for this societal concern.

Motor control accuracy: A consequential probe of individual differences in emotion regulation.

Two studies (total N = 147) sought to model emotion-regulation processes in cognitive-motoric terms. Hostile or nonhostile thoughts were primed and, immediately following, individuals held a joystick as accurately as possible on a presented visual target. Study 1 revealed that the activation of hostile thoughts impaired motor control at low levels of agreeableness but facilitated motor control at high levels of agreeableness, consistent with emotion-regulation views of this trait. Study 2 did not assess the trait of agreeableness but rather sought to determine whether better motor control following activated hostile thoughts would predict lesser reactivity to stressors in an experience-sampling protocol. It did, and relevant results are reported for daily anger, negative affect, and positive affect. In addition, and consistent with the agreeableness findings of Study 1, better motor control that follows hostile thoughts predicted greater empathy on high-stress days. Motor control probes of the present type thus appear consequential in understanding emotion-regulation processes and successes in emotion regulation.

Self-control, social support, and aggression among adolescents in divorced and two-parent families

Abstract This study examined aggression in Israeli adolescents from divorced and two-parent families to explore self-control and social support as resources for reducing aggression, and to investigate whether the stress of divorce increases adolescents' aggression. Israeli adolescents from 127 divorced families and 308 two-parent families, completed self-report questionnaires. Major findings were: (1) Parental divorce did not correlate with increases in physical or verbal aggressive acts, but did correlate with significant increases in angry feelings and hostile thoughts (2) Higher levels of self-control and social support were found to mitigate possible adverse effects of parental divorce on adolescents' aggression. Outcomes imply that intervention designed to reduce aggression in adolescents should focus on the acquisition of self-control and the provision of social support.

Hostility May Explain the Association between Depressive Mood and Mortality: Evidence from the French GAZEL Cohort Study

Background: Depressive mood is associated with mortality. Because personality has been found to be associated with depression and mortality as well, we aimed to test whether depressive mood could predict mortality when adjusting for several measures of personality. Methods: 20,625 employees of the French national gas and electricity companies gave consent to enter in the GAZEL cohort in 1989. Questionnaires were mailed in 1993 to assess depressive mood, type A behavior pattern, hostility, and the six personality types proposed by Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck. Vital status and date of death were obtained annually for all participants. The association between psychological variables and mortality was measured by the Relative Index of Inequality (RII) computed through Cox regression. Results: 14,356 members of the GAZEL cohort (10,916 men, mean age: 49 years; 3,965 women, mean age: 46 years) completed the depressive mood scale and at least one personality scale. During a mean follow-up of 14.8 years, 687 participants had died. Depressive mood predicted mortality, even after adjustment for age, sex, education level, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and smoking [RII (95% CI) = 1.56 (1.16–2.11)]. However, this association was dramatically reduced (RII reduction: 78.9%) after further adjustment for cognitive hostility (i.e. hostile thoughts) [RII (95% CI) = 1.12 (0.80–1.57)]. Cognitive hostility was the only personality measure remaining associated with mortality after adjustment for depressive mood [RII (95% CI) = 1.97 (1.39–2.77)]. Conclusions: Cognitive hostility may either confound or mediate the association between depressive mood and mortality.

The Anatomy of Anger: An Integrative Cognitive Model of Trait Anger and Reactive Aggression

This paper presents an integrative cognitive model, according to which individual differences in 3 cognitive processes jointly contribute to a person's level of trait anger and reactive aggression. An automatic tendency to attribute hostile traits to others is the first of these cognitive processes, and this process is proposed to be responsible for the more frequent elicitation of anger, particularly when hostile intent is ambiguous. Rumination on hostile thoughts is the second cognitive process proposed, which is likely to be responsible for prolonging and intensifying angry emotional states. The authors finally propose that low trait anger individuals use effortful control resources to self-regulate the influence of their hostile thoughts, whereas those high in trait anger do not. A particular emphasis of this review is implicit cognitive sources of evidence for the proposed mechanisms. The authors conclude with a discussion of important future directions, including how the proposed model can be further verified, broadened to take into account motivational factors, and applied to help understand anger-related social problems.

Angry Thoughts and Response to Provocation: Validity of the Angry Cognitions Scale

Recently, Martin and Dahlen (J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 25:155–173, 2007) developed the Angry Cognitions Scale (ACS), a theoretically derived instrument designed to measure the cognitive processes related to anger. This instrument has the potential to inform clinical and research perspectives of anger. Although preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the ACS was positive, further research is required regarding the ACS’s temporal stability and predictive validity. The current project sought to address this concern by assessing the six-week test–retest reliability of the ACS, exploring relationships between the ACS subscales and the experience and expression of anger, and assessing the ability of the ACS to predict cognitive and emotional responses to provocation. The ACS demonstrated adequate test–retest reliability and predicted hostile thoughts and state anger following provocation. Thus, results contribute to the literature on the ACS and support its use as a measure of cognitive processes associated with anger.