Citation

Kozłowska A, Marszał-Wiśniewska M, Niewiarowski J, Mroziński B. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2022; 189: e111498.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2022.111498

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

People regulate their anger using various strategies applied to different phases of the emotional process. However, research investigating the effectiveness of anger regulation strategies in reducing anger is inconsistent, and some evidence indicates individual differences as a factor behind this variability. We aimed to test the role of temperament (stimulation processing capabilities, SPC) in two phases of anger regulation: vulnerability to anger arousal and reducing experienced anger. The study was conducted using a questionnaire and an experimental procedure. Participants (N = 241) completed the Formal Characteristics of Behavior - Temperament Inventory (Revised version). During the experiment, they performed two tasks: an unsolvable task that induced anger, and a task that activated an anger regulation strategy (humor, downplaying, rumination, or distraction). The state of anger was measured three times with a self-report: before the experiment started, after anger induction, and after applying the anger regulation strategy. We used linear mixed-effects models to analyze the data. The results showed that people with greater SPC are less prone to experiencing anger and decrease their anger more effectively. However, various components of SPC (emotional reactivity and endurance) have different significance in each phase and for particular strategies.

Language: en

Keywords

Anger; Anger regulation; Regulative Theory of Temperament; Stimulation processing capabilities; Temperament