ANGER AND INTERPERSONAL DISLIKE

This chapter reviews theory and research on anger and interpersonal dislike, and differentiates between them in terms of their distinctive causes, components, effects, and functions. It is proposed that anger can be understood as an attack emotion, elicited by unwanted events such as goal blockages that are appraised as caused by other persons, when one believes that it may be possible to do something about them, and functions to coerce the target into taking some action or refraining from it. In contrast, dislike of other persons (which can be felt without also feeling anger or contempt toward them) is conceptualized as a distancing emotion. It can be elicited by perceiving others as unappealing, as different from oneself, or as competitors, especially if little or nothing can be done about these perceptions, and functions to reduce proximity to the disliked person(s).