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The Time Course of Anger: An Experimental Investigation

Conceptualizations of anger have suffered from a lack of research investigating the temporal dynamics of anger episodes. Furthermore, though some studies have provided valuable insights into the time course of anger, no study to date has utilized a standardized laboratory paradigm designed to mimic an interpersonal provocation. The purpose of this study was to characterize the time course of the affective, physiological, and behavioral components of anger in response to a standardized provocation. Our second aim was to assess potential effects of trait anger, trait aggression, trait hostility, and emotion regulation deficits on the time course of the different components of anger. Participants (n = 82) engaged in the Modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm (MTAP), a laboratory measure of anger/aggression in which provocation is manipulated by varying electric shocks selected for the participant by an (unbeknownst to the participant) fictitious opponent. This study utilized a modified version of the classic TAP that simulated an acute interpersonal provocation that one might encounter in the “real world.” Subjective anger, physiological arousal (as evidenced by heart rate [HR], galvanic skin response [GSR], and high-frequency heart rate variability [HF HRV]), and the behavioral expression of anger (aggression) were measured throughout the task before, during and after provocation. Consistent with previous research, results showed that the rise time to peak levels of most outcome variables was significantly faster than the return time from peak back to baseline. Additionally, results showed that the majority of the time course variables were not correlated with one another providing evidence for the idea that different components of anger have independent time courses. Contrary to our hypotheses, trait variables were largely unrelated to time course variables. The current study provides further evidence for the relationship between the rise time and return time in the time course of subjective, physiological and behavioral manifestations of anger using a standardized and ecologically valid provocation task. / Psychology

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/1671
Date January 2016
CreatorsKulper, Daniel Alexander
ContributorsMcCloskey, Michael S., Giovannetti, Tania, Drabick, Deborah A., Fauber, Robert L., Efran, Jay S., Schaffer, Matthew
PublisherTemple University. Libraries
Source SetsTemple University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation, Text
Format133 pages
RightsIN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Relationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/1653, Theses and Dissertations

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