Abstract
The first purpose of this study was to investigate Japanese adults' evaluations of appropriateness and effectiveness of anger expression strategies. The second purpose was to investigate the effects of their evaluations and interpersonal goals (i. e., relationship and communication) on the likelihood of using each anger expression strategy. Two hundred and nineteen undergraduates were asked to read a vignette in which a person displayed anger using various anger expression strategies toward either a superior, an equal, or a subordinate whose behavior evoked the anger. The participants were then asked to evaluate each anger expression strategy for its appropriateness and effectiveness. They were also asked to identify themselves as the angry person in the vignette and to rate the intensity of their own anger, the importance of interpersonal goals, and the likelihood of using each anger expression strategy. Findings suggested that pointing out the target person's faults calmly was reported to be a competent anger expression strategy especially when superiors expressed their anger. Regression analyses revealed that the cognitive evaluation of appropriateness of each expression strategy influenced the likelihood of using the strategy.
