Research article summary (published Aug 2009):

Formidability and the logic of human anger.

Full Abstract

Eleven predictions derived from the recalibrational theory of anger were tested. This theory proposes that anger is produced by a neurocognitive program engineered by natural selection to use bargaining tactics to resolve conflicts of interest in favor of the angry individual. The program is designed to orchestrate two interpersonal negotiating tactics (conditionally inflicting costs or conditionally withholding benefits) to incentivize the target of the anger to place greater weight on the welfare of the angry individual. Individuals with enhanced abilities to inflict costs (e.g., stronger individuals) or to confer benefits (e.g., attractive individuals) have a better bargaining position in conflicts; hence, it was predicted that such individuals will be more prone to anger, prevail more in conflicts of interest, and consider themselves entitled to better treatment. These predictions were confirmed. Consistent with an evolutionary analysis, the effect of strength on anger was greater for men and the effect of attractiveness on anger was greater for women. Also as predicted, stronger men had a greater history of fighting than weaker men, and more strongly endorsed the efficacy of force to resolve conflicts--both in interpersonal and international conflicts. The fact that stronger men favored greater use of military force in international conflicts provides evidence that the internal logic of the anger program reflects the ancestral payoffs characteristic of a small-scale social world rather than rational assessments of modern payoffs in large populations.

Author information

Author/s: Sell, Aaron (A); Tooby, John (J); Cosmides, Leda (L);

Affiliation: Center for Evolutionary Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. sell(-atsign-)psych.ucsb.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 106 (issue 35) : pp 15073-8

Dates: Created 2009/10/06; Completed 2009/11/06;

PMID: 19666613, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Sep 1;106(35):14743-4. (PMID: 19717449)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Anger - physiology Female Humans Logic Male

Male Sex Characteristics Social Behavior Socioeconomic Factors Young Adult

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