Clarification of the process of anger-out in negatively evaluated situation: Analysis from the viewpoint of self-esteem and anxiety

Abstract

Referring to the threatened egotism model of Baumeister et al. (1996), the purpose of this study was to examine the process of anger-out through the decrease of self-esteem and the state of anxiety. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 286 participants (118 males, 168 females, mean age 19.89 years). The result of the virtual situation where the subject him/herself was negatively evaluated in the presence of others indicated that (a) the state-anger, which directly influenced the anger-out as well as the anger control and the anger-in, was positively influenced by the state-anxiety, (b) the decrease of self-esteem influenced the increase of state-anxiety, (c) the state-anxiety positively affected both the anger control and the anger-in while the state-anger negatively affected the anger control, and (d) the anger-in positively impacted the anger-out.