What Triggers Anger in Everyday Life? Links to the Intensity, Control, and Regulation of These Emotions, and Personality Traits

Summary & key facts

Researchers asked 173 people to keep a daily diary for 3 weeks and report their single most intense anger each day. They coded 2,342 anger episodes and grouped the triggers into five categories. Anger tied to other people or to unknown sources tended to be stronger and harder to control. Personality tests barely predicted how people felt or regulated anger in daily life.

Key facts:

• The study had 173 participants who recorded 2,342 anger episodes over a 3-week daily-diary study.
• Participants reported their most intense anger each day and described the trigger in their own words.
• An iterative coding method produced five trigger categories: other people; psychological and physical distress; intrapersonal demands; environment; and diffuse/undifferentiated/unknown.
• Anger triggered by other people, and anger with an unknown or undifferentiated source, was linked to higher anger intensity and greater lack of control compared with other trigger types.
• Baseline personality measures (including trait anger, mindfulness, psychological need satisfaction, and the Big Five traits) showed few clear links to how anger was experienced or regulated day to day.
• The findings indicate that the immediate situation that triggers anger is more closely related to anger intensity and control than the measured personality traits, according to the study data.

Abstract

Why do people experience anger? Most of our knowledge on anger-triggering events is based on the study of reactions at a single time point in a person's life. Little research has examined how people experience anger in their daily life over time. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive examination of the situational determinants of anger over the course of 3 weeks. Using daily diary methodology, people (N = 173; 2,342 anger episodes) reported their most intense daily anger and, with an open-ended format, described the trigger. Participants also answered questions on anger intensity, control, and regulatory strategies, along with baseline personality trait measures. Using an iterative coding system, five anger trigger categories emerged: other people, psychological and physical distress, intrapersonal demands, environment, and diffuse/undifferentiated/unknown. Compared with other triggers, when anger was provoked by other people or when the source was unknown, there was a stronger positive association with anger intensity and lack of control. Personality traits (i.e., anger, mindfulness, psychological need satisfaction, the Big Five) showed few links to the experience and regulation of daily anger. Although aversive events often spur anger, the correlates and consequences of anger differ depending on the source of aversion; personality traits offer minimal value in predicting anger in daily life.

Topics

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Personality Traits and Psychology Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Anger Big Five personality traits Clinical psychology Cognitive psychology Control (management) Developmental psychology Economics Everyday life Law Management Personality Political science Psychology Social psychology