Abstract
Effects of using ‘Proving myself’ and ‘Revenge’ as coping methods against anger arousal were investigated by focusing on their effects on reducing anger and restoring self-esteem. Participants were university students (n=294). They were asked to imagine an anger arousing situation and a coping situation, and to respond to a scale with items assessing the state of anger and self-esteem. They responded to the scale three times, before and after the anger arousal situation and after the coping situation. Results of an ANOVA indicated that ‘Proving myself’ as a coping method reduced anger and restored self-esteem, whereas ‘Revenge’ as a coping method only reduced anger. These results suggest that ‘Proving myself,’ in comparison to ‘Revenge’ is a superior coping strategy for reducing anger.
