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Anger in the Context of Gender

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International Handbook of Anger

Abstract

The simple picture of the angry male and the friendly female may be appealing, but it is oversimplified. Anger is an emotion that is experienced equally frequently by men and women because of goals that are blocked and other persons that transgress social rules. However, gender role practices and expectancies do affect the way in which men and women regulate their anger in different social contexts. Both social relations and social norms may make gender-specific features, expectancies, or roles salient, and it is these gender-specific features that influence the intensity, duration or quality of one’s anger experience and expression, and the way in which one’s anger is regulated. We especially analyze the impact of negative social appraisals of one’s anger, which can be different for men and women, depending on the specific social context.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We have included studies on aggression in this review of sex differences in anger expression, although the relationship with anger in these studies is not always explicit. We assume, however, that in the majority of these studies participants are angry to some extent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Agneta H. Fischer

  2. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Catharine Evers

Authors
  1. Agneta H. Fischer
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  2. Catharine Evers
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Correspondence to Agneta H. Fischer .

Editor information

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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Fischer, A.H., Evers, C. (2010). Anger in the Context of Gender. 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_20

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