Anger from Various Perspectives: Mechanisms of Anger, Anger as a psychopathology, and Therapist’s Anger

Year 2014, , 44 - 59, 01.09.2014

İlknur Dilekler , Zulal Törenli , Kerim Selvi

https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.470591

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Anger is one of the basic negative emotions, and the aim of this article is to unfold anger in terms of its definition, recognition, expression and also in terms of its mechanism in daily life and in therapeutic situations. Although there are various definitions of anger, there is a commonly agreed consensus that anger is a moral emotion, given as a reaction to anticipation of injustice, usually directed to another person who is perceived as challenging or threatening. Anger can also be directed to self or inanimate objects and may be expressed in multiple forms and intensity. Many other emotions such as envy, shame, guilt, sadness, and hatred are related to anger and sometimes a sort of combination among these emotions. In addition, a number of theoretical perspectives have been proposed that aimed to explain the psychological mechanism of anger. Throughout this paper, via case studies evolutionary, social constructivist, cognitive-clinical, and psychodynamic approaches to anger will be briefly mentioned and followed by the explanation of mechanism of anger and its role in the development of psychopathology. These cases emphasize problematic consequences os anger that is not directed to its target but rather displaced to other objects, and anger that is directed to one’s own self. Lastly, therapist’s anger will also be addressed for a better understanding of anger in therapeutic relationship which is a form of human interaction. This issue will be covered within the framework of recognition and acceptance of anger for a novice therapist who wants to be “the good therapist” and lives in a society where anger is not a widely acceptable emotion.

Keywords

anger, mechanism of anger, anger as a disorder, therapist’s anger, psychotherapy

Öfkeye Farklı Açılardan Bakış: Öfkenin Mekanizması, Farklı Psikopatolojilerde Öfke ve Terapistin Öfkesi

Abstract

Bu yazıda temel duygulardan biri olan öfkenin gerek günlük yaşantıda gerekse psikoterapi sürecinde tanımlanması, tanınması, ifadesi ve mekanizmasının hem terapi alan kişi hem de terapist açısından anlamlandırılması amaçlanmıştır. Pek çok farklı disiplinlerce ve psikoloji literatüründe de farklı yönleriyle tanımlanan öfkeye dair anlayışlara göz atıldığında öfkenin engellenme, haksızlık, tehdit edilme ile ilintili olduğu, ahlaki bir muhakeme içerebileceği, dürtülerden bağımsız olmadığı ve evrimsel olarak da yaşamsal değeri olan, çoğu zaman bir kişi ya da nesneye yönelen bir duygu olduğu görülmektedir. Öfke çeşitli boyutlarda yaşanabileceği gibi ifadesi de çok çeşitlidir. Haset, utanç, suçluluk, üzüntü, içerleme, nefret gibi duygularla bağlantılı ve katmanlı şekilde ortaya çıkan öfkeyi kavramsallaştırmada birden fazla teorik yaklaşımdan yararlanılabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada evrimsel, sosyal inşacı, bilişsel ve psikanalitik bakış açılarının öfkeye yönelik anlayışına kısaca değinilmiş, ardından vaka örnekleriyle öfkenin mekanizması ve öfkenin psikopatoloji oluşumundaki rolü çözümlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu örnekler temel olarak öfkenin nesnesine yöneltilememesi ile farklı nesnelere yansıtılması ve kendine yönelen öfkenin problemli hale gelmesini içermektedir. Öfkeyi anlama çabasında, son aşamada terapi ilişkisinde öfkenin ortaya çıkışı ağırlıklı olarak terapistteki öfkeye odaklanarak incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda özellikle toplumsal beklentiler ve alandaki yeni terapistlerin “iyi terapist olma” fikrinin etkisiyle öfkeyi bastırmanın işlevsizliği ve öfkeyi kabul etmenin, dolayısıyla çözümlemenin önemine işaret edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Keywords

öfke, öfkenin gelişimi, bozukluk olarak öfke, terapistin öfkesi, terapide öfke

References

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Averill, J. R. (1982). Anger and aggression: An essay on emotion. New York: Springer- Verlag.
• Berkowitz, L. (1990). On the formation and regulation of anger and aggression: A cognitive neoassociationist analysis. American Psychologist, 45, 494-503.
• Cosmides, L., &Tooby, J. (2000). Evolutionary psychology and the emotions. In M. Lewis
• & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (2nd ed.). NY: Guilford. Di Giuseppe, R., &Tafrate, R. C. (2007). Understanding anger disorders. USA: Oxford University Press.
• Ekman, P. (1973). Darwin and facial expression; a century of research in review. New York: Academic Press.
• Feindler, E. L. (2006). Anger related disorders: A practitioner's guide to comparative treatments. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
• Freud, S. (1917). Mourning and Melancholia. The Standard Edition of the Complete
• Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIV (1914-1916): On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement, Papers on Metapsychology and Other Works, 237-258.
• Gelso, C. J., & Hayes, J. A. (2007). Countertransference and the therapist's inner experience: Perils and possibilities. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Kitayama, S., & Markus, H. R. (1994). Emotion and culture: Empirical studies of mutual influence. Washington DC, US: American Psychological Association Press.
• Klein, M. (1946). Notes on some schizoid mechanisms. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 27, 99-110.
• Kohut, H. (1977). The restoration of self. London: The University of Chicago Press.
• Retrieved from http://www.google.com.tr/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=1gSi3qN ywIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=kohut&ots= NHoEgWov_&sig=TS7scwKQajChb9WOlHHW_RwCVDA&redir_esc=y Lane, R. C., & Harris, M. (2007). The psychodynamics of anger: Orientation, development, etiology, and treatment. In E. I. Clausen (Ed.), Psychology of Anger.New
• York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Langs, R. (1973). The technique of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, volume 1.New York: Aronson.
• Maroda, K. J. (2010). Psychodynamic techniques: working with emotion in the therapeutic relationship. The Guilford Press, New York.
• McWilliams, N. (1994). Psychoanalytic diagnosis: understanding personality structure in the clinical process. The Guilford Press, New York.
• McWilliams, N. (2010). Psikanalitik tanı, klinik süreç içinde kişilik yapısını anlamak.
• İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, İstanbul. Novaco, R. W. (1998). Aggression In H. Friedman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of mental health
• (pp.13-26). San Diego: Academic Press. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/read/119979950/encyclopedia-of-mental-health
• Özmen, A. (2006). Anger: The theoretical approaches and the factors causing the emergence in individuals. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences, (1), 39-56.
• Power, M., &Dalgleish, T. (2008). Cognition and emotion: From order to disorder. (2nd ed.). NY: Psychology Press
• Tarantino, Q. (Writer & Director). (1994). Pulp Fiction [Motion Picture]. United States: Miramax.
• Thomas, S. P. (2007). Trait anger, anger expression, and themes of anger incidents in contemporary undergraduate students. In E. I. Clausen (Ed.), Psychology of Anger.
• New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.