Anger as a moral emotion: A “bird’s eye“ systematic review

ABSTRACT

Anger is a common problem for which counselling and psychotherapy clients seek help, and is typically regarded as an invidious negative emotion to be ameliorated. However, in some instances it may be possible to reframe anger as a moral emotion, arising in response to perceived transgressions, thereby endowing it with meaning. In that respect, this paper offers a “bird’s eye” systematic review of empirical research on anger as a moral emotion (i.e., focusing broadly on the terrain as a whole, rather than on specific areas). Three databases were reviewed from the start of their records to February 2019. Eligibility criteria included empirical research, published in English in peer-reviewed journals, on anger specifically as a moral emotion. A total of 175 papers met the criteria, and fell into four broad classes of study: survey-based; experimental; physiological; and qualitative. In discussing the articles, this paper looks at: how anger can be differentiated from other moral emotions; antecedent causes and triggers of moral anger; contextual factors that influence or mitigate it; and outcomes arising from it. Together, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of current knowledge of this prominent and problematic emotion. The results may be of use to counsellors and psychotherapists helping to address anger issues in their clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Anger
• emotion
• moral
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tim Lomas

Dr. Tim Lomas is a senior lecturer in positive psychology at the University of East London, where he has taught since 2013. Tim completed his PhD at the University of Westminster in 2012, where his thesis focused on the impact of meditation on men's mental health. Since 2013, Tim has published over 60 papers and books on topics including positive psychology theory, mindfulness, Buddhism, linguistics, and gender. His work has been featured in articles in prominent publications including TIME, The New Yorker, Scientific American, and The Atlantic. His current main area of research involves creating a lexicography of untranslatable words relating to wellbeing (please visit www.drtimlomas.com/lexicography for the latest on the project). Two books on the project were published in 2018: an academic analysis of the lexicography, entitled Translating Happiness: A Cross-Cultural Lexicon of Wellbeing, published by The MIT Press; and a general interest exploration of key words, entitled The Happiness Dictionary: Words from Around the World to Help Us Lead a Richer Life, published by Piatkus.