Variability in anger intensity profiles: Structure and predictive basis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe variability in the shape and amplitude of intensity profiles of anger episodes and how it relates to duration, and to investigate whether this variability can be predicted on the basis of appraisals and emotion regulation strategies used. Participants were asked to report on a wide range of recollected anger episodes. By means of K-spectral centroid clustering, two prototypical shapes of anger intensity profiles were identified: early- and late-blooming episodes. Early-blooming episodes are relatively short and reach their peak immediately. These profiles are associated with low-importance events and adaptive regulation. Late-blooming episodes last longer and reach their peak (relatively) late in the episode. These profiles are related to high-importance events and maladaptive regulation. For both early- and late-blooming profiles, overall amplitude is positively associated with event importance and the use of maladaptive regulation strategies and negatively with the use of adaptive ones.

Keywords:

• Intensity profiles
• Emotional experience
• Time dynamics
• Emotion regulation
• Functional data analysis

This research was supported by Grant [GOA/10/02] from the Research Fund of the University of Leuven.

This research was supported by Grant [GOA/10/02] from the Research Fund of the University of Leuven.

Notes

¹ We did not find evidence for a relation between cluster membership and gender (χ² = 0.11, p = .83).

² No evidence was found for a relation between amplitude and gender (F(1, 584) = 0.003, p = .96).

³ For duration, too, no significant relation with gender was found (F(1, 584) = 0.51, p = .48).

⁴ In addition, rated low control over the emotion-eliciting event was also found to relate significantly to a higher amplitude and a longer duration.

⁵ Still, we cannot exclude that the appraisals that were actually experienced differ from how participants remember them, because participants will have digested the emotional event meanwhile.