Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
Clin Psychol Rev. 2011 Mar;31(2):193-202. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.10.003. Epub 2010 Oct 31.
Trait anger is a personality construct that refers to stable individual differences in the propensity to experience anger as an emotional state. The objective of this paper is to review relevant empirical studies in order to determine whether the transdiagnostic cognitive processes that have been identified across the DSM-IV Axis I disorders (specifically, selective attention, memory biases, reasoning biases and recurrent negative thinking) are also an underlying characteristic of high trait anger. On the basis of the review it is concluded that, whilst the research base is limited, there is good evidence that high trait anger is associated with selective attention to hostile social cues, the tendency to interpret the behaviour of others as indicating potential hostility and the tendency to ruminate over past anger-provoking experiences. The range of cognitive processes identified in high trait anger is consistent with those identified in the Axis I disorders. It is concluded that these findings provide support for (i) the broad applicability of the transdiagnostic approach as a theoretical framework for understanding a range of psychological conditions, not limited to the Axis I disorders, and (ii) the validity of conceptualising high trait anger as an aspect of personality functioning that is maintained, at least in part, by cognitive processes. Cognitive and motivational factors (specifically, beliefs and goals) that may underlie the hostile information-processing biases and recurrent negative thinking associated with high trait anger are discussed, and consideration is given to the clinical relevance of the findings of the review.
特质愤怒是一种人格结构，指的是个体经历愤怒情绪状态的倾向性存在稳定的个体差异。本文的目的是回顾相关的实证研究，以确定在 DSM-IV 轴 I 障碍中确定的跨诊断认知过程（特别是选择性注意、记忆偏差、推理偏差和反复消极思维）是否也是高特质愤怒的一个潜在特征。基于综述，虽然研究基础有限，但有充分证据表明，高特质愤怒与对敌对社会线索的选择性注意、将他人的行为解释为潜在敌意的倾向以及对过去激怒性经历的反复思考有关。在高特质愤怒中确定的认知过程范围与在轴 I 障碍中确定的认知过程一致。研究结果为以下观点提供了支持：(i) 跨诊断方法作为理解一系列心理状况的理论框架具有广泛的适用性，不仅限于轴 I 障碍；(ii) 将高特质愤怒概念化为一种人格功能的观点是有效的，至少部分是由认知过程维持的。本文讨论了可能构成与高特质愤怒相关的敌对信息处理偏差和反复消极思维的认知和动机因素（具体而言，信念和目标），并考虑了综述结果的临床意义。
