Reliably Eliciting Anger in Psychology Research

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated that emotions can be reliably elicited using a variety of methods, including interacting with others, recalling past events, and viewing affective pictures. However, there are many challenges when evoking anger in the laboratory. Anger is a negative emotional state in response to a wrongdoing against the individual that encourages an individual to move toward the offender. Because anger typically requires researchers to use manipulations involving deception or interpersonal interactions, pictorial stimuli have rarely been used to manipulate anger. In this case study, we will first review how anger has been operationally defined. Next, we will review how previous studies have manipulated anger. We will then discuss how our research on anger led us to find, compile, and test a series of pictorial and written stimuli to evoke anger.

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