Trait anger and negative interpretation bias in neutral face perception.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Emotion Research

Background:

• Anger is a basic emotion linked to goal achievement and social influence.
• Trait anger, a disposition to experience anger, correlates with attributing hostile traits to others.
• Negative interpretation biases are also observed in anxiety and depression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine associations between anger components and negative interpretation tendencies.
• To investigate interpretation of ambiguous and neutral schematic faces.
• To control for anxiety, depressed mood, and other variables.

Main Methods:

• 150 young adults participated in a computer-based facial expression perception task.
• Participants completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2) and other self-report measures.
• Data analysis explored correlations between anger components and interpretation biases.

Main Results:

• Trait anger and anger expression correlated with perceiving negative affects in neutral, but not ambiguous, faces.
• Trait anger specifically predicted the attribution of anger, sadness, and anxiety to neutral faces.
• These associations remained significant after adjusting for anxiety, depression, and state anger.

Conclusions:

• Trait anger is associated with a negatively biased interpretation of neutral schematic faces.
• This bias is independent of anxiety and depressed mood.
• Neutral faces may serve as valuable stimuli for studying anger-related interpretation biases.