Story by Victoria Hart
Photos by Philip Vukelich
Parking tickets, hippies, rain, CHEM 111, group work, and gossip are among more than 50 frustrations reported by University of Idaho students and staff during an informal survey.
Schoolwork, classes and professors led the way in what makes people angry. Lazy people, ignorant people, noisy people and stupid people also ranked high among stimulators of wrath.
Nearly half of respondents said they handle anger in a healthy way. The most common tactic for cooling down was doing something creative or calming, such as listening to music, watching a movie, or playing video games. Almost one-fifth of respondents said they talk it out, venting to friends and family. Exercise and prayer were also common methods of dealing with anger.
Jamie Nekich Derrick, a clinical psychologist and professor of child development at UI, said less healthy responses to anger include bottling it up and behaving explosively. While about 5 percent of people surveyed reported internalizing or suppressing their rage, about one-eighth said they act out — shouting, swearing, or becoming violent. Derrick, on the other hand, suspects repression might be a far more common response to anger because of cultural pressure or guilt associated with the “bad” emotion.
Derrick said people often get angry when they feel personally wronged or blocked in pursuit of a goal, but regulating intense emotion works better than extreme reactions like suppressing anger or behaving impulsively. The 10 percent of survey participants who take a step back and evaluate their anger, then seek a logical solution might be modulating their emotions in a positive way.
“Some anger can be productive,” she said. “It’s helpful if it leads someone to take action on their own behalf.”
She referred to a study that found people are more likely to respect leaders who show a “tiny bit” of anger, saying there’s power in the emotion when it’s controlled. If anger, or any emotion or habit, starts interfering with daily life, Derrick said it might be worth seeking help. Often roommates, friends or close family become concerned about a loved one’s anger and recommend counselling.
More than a quarter of those surveyed reported feeling angry about twice a month, but Derrick said most emotions exist on a continuum and slight irritation or frustration probably occur much more often. These twinges of ire can be channeled for good, fueling self-assertion and persistence toward a goal.
“The thing is not necessarily to eliminate it completely,” Derrick said. “There’s power in a little bit of anger.”