The effect of descriptive anger expression, insult, and no feedback on interpersonal aggression, hostility, and empathy motivation.

Abstract

In a test of the hypothesis that descriptive anger expression elicits less subsequent aggression and greater empathy than does aggressive insult, 60 male undergraduates were instructed to set varying levels of shock for an opponent during a series of competitive trials before and after hearing one of four types of taped comment. Results indicated that descriptive anger expression led to a significant decrease in aggression, while no feedback (opponent said nothing) led to an increase in aggression. Insult and no anger feedback resulted in little change in aggressive behavior. In contrast, descriptive anger expression, insult, and no anger feedback produced more residual hostility than did no feedback. Descriptive anger expression Ss appeared to be more motivated by empathy in setting shocks, as compared to the other three groups. Empathy was found to be generally associated with lower shock settings initially and with reductions in shock settings following the opponent's comments. Empathy, however, was not related to Ss' hostility ratings. The results tend to support the clinical utility of descriptive anger expression in improving interpersonal relations.