Expressing Anger in Conflict: When it Helps and When it Hurts

Abstract

Do expressions of anger in conflict elicit competition or cooperation? To reconcile inconsistent results obtained in previous research, we develop and test a dual-process model that proposes that power and the appropriateness of the expressions of anger jointly determine whether an individual facing an angry antagonist competes by demanding value or cooperates by conceding value. In a scenario study and a computer-mediated negotiation simulation, (1) participants with lower power claimed less value from an angry adversary than from a non-emotional one regardless of the appropriateness of the expressions of anger, and (2) participants with higher power demanded more value when the adversary's expressions of anger were inappropriate than when they were appropriate or when the adversary was non-emotional. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our model and findings.

Keywords: conflict, negotiation, anger, power, appropriateness, retaliation