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The Nature and Measurement of Anger

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Abstract

The nature of anger, hostility, and aggression and the relations among these concepts are considered in this chapter. The evolution of the concepts of anger and aggression from the ancient writings of Plato and Aristotle to those of Darwin and Freud is noted. Recent research findings on the relationships between anger, Type A behavior, and coronary heart disease (CHD) are also reviewed, and the essential distinction between anger as an emotional state and individual differences in anger as a personality trait is clarified. Conceptual definitions of anger, hostility, and aggression are examined as components of the AHA! Syndrome, in which anger is clearly an essential emotional motivator of both hostility and aggression. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the ubiquitous nature of anger in daily life and the use of the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to assess the experience, expression, and control of anger in research and the diagnosis and treatment of anger-related problems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Charles D. Spielberger & Eric C. Reheiser

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  1. Charles D. Spielberger
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  2. Eric C. Reheiser
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Correspondence to Charles D. Spielberger .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pediatrics, Div. Pediatric Clinical Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Delaware St. SE., 420, Minneapolis, 55455, Minnesota, USA

    Michael Potegal

  2. FB Psychologie, Universität Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Gerhard Stemmler

  3. University of South Florida, 7th Ave. South 140, St. Petersburg, 33701, Florida, USA

    Charles Spielberger

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Spielberger, C.D., Reheiser, E.C. (2010). The Nature and Measurement of Anger. In: Potegal, M., Stemmler, G., Spielberger, C. (eds) International Handbook of Anger. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89676-2_23

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