COGNITIVE CUES IN THE RECOGNITION OF PROJECTED ANGER
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to explore the cognitive experience of anger utilizing the cognitive labeling model of emotions. The cognitive elements of anger were examined and the results were framed within Averill's (1982) syndrome conception of anger. A projective instrument consisting of 10 action scenarios was utilized to elicit cognitive responses from 105 undergraduate students who volunteered as subjects. The subjects also completed a Belief in a Just World scale to assess their adherence to a belief system focused on the justice or equity in the activities they witness. It was hypothesized that perceptions of unfairness, intentionality, and foreseeability, as well as the recognition of a covert desire to aggress, were significant stimuli in the labeling of an experience as anger. It was also hypothesized that allegiance to a belief in the inherent justice or equity of the world would be associated with a significant decrease in the amount of anger experienced. Correlations, partial correlations, as well as regression, factor, and path analyses were utilized to anlayze the data. Results demonstrated significant associations between anger and perceptions of unfairness, intentionality, foreseeability, and covert aggressive desires. Covert aggression was the variable most strongly associated with anger, followed closely by perceptions of unfairness. The perceptions of intentionality and foreseeability appeared to influence anger most strongly through their association with covert aggressive drives. A professed belief in a just world demonstrated a significant negative association with anger. Conceptual and methodological issues were discussed to integrate present findings with previous research and literature on cognitive theories of emotion as well as with counseling techniques for anger management. Conclusions drawn from the research support the use of attributional and cognitive models in the theoretical analysis of emotion as well as in the development of anger management techniques.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling|Psychotherapy
Recommended Citation
CISCO, JOHN GREGORY, "COGNITIVE CUES IN THE RECOGNITION OF PROJECTED ANGER" (1987). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8725669.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8725669
