Evan Magelssen
Prof. Piatt
Gen. Psych
20 July 2013
Five Psychological Views of Anger Much could be said about both psychology and anger, but how do the two correlate with one another? Is anger something that we can control by our actions and ideas? Is it always lingering in the bottom of our minds helping us judge our every move? Is it just a bunch of chemical reactions in our brain that we have no control over? Does have a greater or lesser effect upon opposite sexes? And if any of these are in effect, how does one deal with anger? In this text we will go over the five views of psychology and their takes on anger and also how to deal with it. Neuroscince is the approach that views behavior from the perspective of the brain, the nervous system and other biological functions. This view basically sees us humans mainly as highly evolved animals where are hereditary can be a major influence as to who we are. It believes that all behavior can be traced back and broken into biological components. So when dealing with anger, Dr. Mark Goulston asks, “What comes first in anger, a low level of functional dopamine and serotonin or an adrenaline surge?” First off, both dopamine and serotonin are actual chemicals transmitted through brain that have very positive effects. When you have a high level of these two chemicals you usually will feel more upbeat, care-free, happy, and not so easily angered. But when you have a low level of these two chemicals you feel groggy, irritable, and more stressed. Another factor comes into play that determines our anger and that is adrenaline. Adrenaline is also a chemical that is triggered by excitement and threat. In the case of excitement, it triggers a near (but not true) manic level of intense activity. In the case of threat, it triggers a “fight or flight” response. “When someone or something suddenly surprises and upsets you, it triggers adrenaline, but how angry you will become is often determined by how much functional dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters you have. The higher the levels of those two neurotransmitters the more you’re able to feel the upset momentarily and let it go, before you become angry. The lower the levels of those two, the less you are able to let the surprise and upset go without becoming upset and striking back. On the other hand it may be that adrenaline is triggered more easily when you have lower levels of dopamine and serotonin, and so it takes much less for it cause such an adrenaline surge. Dopamine and serotonin mitigate this results in more tenacity and resilience (again two things that depressed people are not able to do). This is further complicated in men by the presence of testosterone which can piggy back on top of the adrenaline surge and give them a burst of feeling aggressive and powerful which is very seductive to the male ego and may explain why their anger and aggressiveness can escalate and go on and on.” So the question still resides, can one control their anger even when they are unable to control their circumstances and the amount of dopamine and serotonins in their brains, many neuroscientists believe you can. Dr. Athena Staik believes that one way to deal with anger is do something that you enjoy to increase the amount of serotonin and dopamine so as to become less irritable. The psychodynamic perspective is based on the view that behavior is motivated by unconscious inner forces over which the individual has little control. The way many people have this outlook of psychology view anger as just an emotion caused by unconscious aggression. “In terms of anger, a psychodynamic view would hold that a patient's anger is part of an aggressive drive and that emotional expression will lead to a catharsis and, ultimately, reduce the anger (Ambrose & Mayne, 1999). A patient's expression of anger may be indicative of a deeper conflict within the unconscious. Therefore, via the direct approach of the therapist and the various techniques of psychodynamic therapy, this underlying conflict can be conjured up to the conscious awareness of the patient.” Ways that psychotherapists deal with people who have an anger issue is by simply talking things out, identifying difficulties, recognizing sources of conflict and as a result a person will become more self-aware, feeling more in control of your life, gaining more self-esteem, leading a fulfilled life. Behavioral psychology suggests that observable, measurable behavior should be the focus of study. John B. Watson believed one could gain a complete understanding of behavior by studying and modifying the environment in which people operate. In terms of therapy, the idea is that a response that has been conditioned can, theoretically, be unconditioned via a similar process. So when dealing with anger behaviorists will tend to try and eliminate the possibility of being in a potentially anger-triggering circumstance, and when they are they will use a diverse spectrum of techniques including systematic desensitization, exposure therapy, behavior rehearsal, contingency management, and aversion therapy. Cognitive psychology focuses on how people think, understand and reason about the world. So when dealing with different emotions it can be easily put like this. Imagine two guys, both were brought up the same way with all of the same benefits and ways of life. There is nothing different about the way these two men are except for the way they think about things. They both believe in free will and that they aren’t controlled by anything but for some reason one gets angrier than the other, and the only reason is because he often makes bad situations worse in his head because of the way he thinks about them. For example, he tends to demands that things should be, ought to be, or have to be, his way, rather than just wanting or preferring them to be a certain way. The basic goal with this therapy is to make an individual confront his maladaptive thinking so that he can change it. The view of this technique is that it is a person's beliefs about an experience that generate behavioral or emotional problems. Thus, concerning anger, the implication is that a person must become aware of his maladaptive cognitions about a situation or experience, through the help of the therapist, and then attempt to reinterpret and change them, thus leading to a reduction of anger. Humanistic psychology suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop and be in control of their lives and behavior. They believe that you can gain inner-strength to deal with real problems in their lives when they aren’t filled with anger. One therapeutical approach with the anger you have is to constructively face negative emotions that arise during specific situations. Another way is to calm yourself through mindfulness and breathing.

So now that we have seen many perceptions of how the world views and tries to take care of anger, which one is right? Do some perceptions sound better or worse than others? How can we be for sure that what they say is even true about your mind and how you should cope with anger? Now that we’ve seen what humans do in the face of anger, what does God say? First off to clarify, not all anger is sinful, even God Himself grew angry towards the Israelites in the Old Testament. This however is a different from of anger then is to be discussed. Anger that causes yourself (irritable, malice, rage) and others (hatred, violence, resentfulness) harm is the matter of subject. When dealing with anger in a biblical manner, one should not go straight to a bible, turn to the back and look for verses specifically regarding anger. Though this will lead to some clarification it is not the route of the issue. The route of all sin, no matter what kind, is pride. We may not think it in our heads, but when we become angry for whatever reason, lets say for example rock climbing, you’ve been training very hard to get the top of a route but when the day comes to get to the top, you cant.

Works Cited
Psychology book (correct this) http://markgoulston.com/usable-insight-the-neuroscience-of-anger/ http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships/2011/01/five-steps-to-calm-anger-with-empathy/ http://smu.edu/ecenter/discourse/papers/2002Spring/AngerManagement.asp http://www.hertspsychotherapy.co.uk/what-is-psychotherapy-counselling/ http://www.abct.org/docs/Members/FactSheets/ANGER 0707.pdf Cognitive Humanistic Therapy: Buddhism, Christianity and Being Fully Human