Anger towards relational norm violations: Effects of types of relationships, relational specificity of and conveyance of needs

Abstract

Anger plays a crucial role in relationships, often signifying the violation of relational norms, such as neglect of responsibility in meeting a partner's needs. From this perspective, people would likely experience more anger when someone close neglects their needs compared to someone distant. Assuming that anger toward perceived norm violations are moderated by situational variables, the present study investigated two hypotheses: the effects of relationship closeness would be observed only when relationship-specific needs are neglected (Hypothesis 1); and they would be observed only when participants did not convey to the other what they wanted (Hypothesis 2). In a questionnaire study involving role-taking, 75 university students were presented randomly one of four sets of scenarios varied by intimacy of the target (close, distant) and conveyance of needs (conveyed, unconveyed). Each set included scenarios depicting specific and non-specific needs which were neglected. After reading each scenario, participants rated the intensity of anger they would experience. The results supported Hypothesis 1, but not Hypothesis 2, suggesting that anger directed toward someone close is egoistic.View full abstract