Relationship of trait anger and irrational thinking to ATSS anger and aggression verbalizations in women

Anger can be instrumental in motivating a person to change the situational factors that are blocking goal attainment. However, anger is also associated with interpersonal conflict, secondary emotional distress, substance use, automobile accidents, impaired decision-making, unnecessary risk taking, medical problems, child abuse and other forms of physical aggression. Anger is often triggered by social interactions between family members, romantic partners, and so on. Young men and women who are less experienced with managing their expectations within romantic relationships may be especially more susceptible to anger and its negative consequences. Despite the associated negative consequences, the study of anger has received relatively less attention when compared to depression and anxiety.;It is asserted in cognitive behavioral theory that cognitive appraisal is responsible for the subsequent emotions and behaviors of an individual. In particular, the model of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy emphasizes the moderating role that both rational and irrational thinking play in determining consequences (Ellis, 1994). Irrational thoughts are defined as illogical, inflexible, and lacking in evidence. According to Ellis, there are four core evaluative, irrational beliefs that lead to disturbance: demandingness, awfulizing, low-frustration tolerance, and global evaluation of worth.;This study explored the relationship between cognition, trait anger, anger experience and aggression in women, within the context of romantic relationships. The Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations (ATSS) procedure was utilized, as it has been previously shown to be a valid source of cognitive assessment and may eliminate some of the obstacles associated with self-report, pencil-and-paper measures. It is believed that the ATSS provocation scenarios enable accessibility to anger experiences and the related cognitive components.;Forty undergraduate women participated in this study. A multivariate correlational design was used with the statistical procedures of correlation and regression. The independent variables were trait anger, as measured by the STAXI-2 Trait Anger Scale (Spielberger, 1999) and irrational thinking, as measured by the subscales of the Survey of Personal Beliefs (Kassinove & Berger, 1996). The dependent variables were coded ATSS responses (Anger Spectrum Statements; Verbally Aggressive/Aggressive Behavioral Intent; Anger Control Strategies/Positive Emotions) and aggression cognitions, as measured by the ancillary Word Completion Task (Carnagey & Anderson, 2005). Two ATSS scenarios were used to generate emotional responses: Overheard Conversation and Jealousy.;The first hypothesis stated that Trait Anger Scale scores would be significantly related to ATSS coded responses of (a) anger spectrum statements, (b) verbally aggressive/aggressive behavioral intent, and (c) anger control strategies/positive emotions. It was expected that higher trait anger would be related to a higher frequency of aggregated anger spectrum statements and aggregated statements of verbal aggression/aggressive behavioral intent and to a lower frequency of aggregated anger control strategies/positive emotion statements. This hypothesis was partially supported as the TAS was significantly related to verbally aggressive/aggressive behavioral intent statements. The remaining correlations were not significant. In the second hypothesis it was predicted that there would be a significant relationship between trait anger and postprovocation aggressive cognitions, such that higher Trait Anger Scale scores would be related to higher post-provocation scores on the aggressive cognitions scale (Word Completion Task). This hypothesis was not supported. Finally, the third hypothesis predicted that scores on the Survey of Personal Beliefs subscales would contribute significantly to the predictive power of the Trait Anger Scale in both Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2. However, results showed that the five SPB subscales did not add significant predictive power within the stepwise regression model when predicting anger spectrum statements or statements of verbal aggression/aggressive behavioral intent. In contrast, the aggregated total of anger control statements/positive emotions was significantly predicted by the Self-Directed Shoulds subscale of the Survey of Personal Beliefs. Although the Low Frustration Tolerance subscale did not make a significant contribution to the predictive power of the Self-Directed Shoulds subscale, it did significantly correlate with the aggregated total of anger control/positive emotion statements.;In light of the obtained results, limitations and theoretical considerations are discussed. Since the data did not show a relationship between irrational thinking and anger and aggression verbalizations, it was concluded that the results of this study do not support the model of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Suggestions for future research include an expansion of anger trigger intensity levels, use of clinic referred samples of women, and a validity check to ascertain the visualization ability of study participants.