Chapter 58
Anger
People Affected: everyone
Type of Emotion: voluntary expression
Preceding Emotions: usually revenge or jealousy
Facial Expressions: glaring, flared nostrils, curled lips, clenched jaw
Vocal Expressions: louder, lower pitch, lower resonance
Verbal Expressions: profanity, but not putdowns
Synonyms: rage, tantrum, fury
Type of Emotion: voluntary expression
Preceding Emotions: usually revenge or jealousy
Facial Expressions: glaring, flared nostrils, curled lips, clenched jaw
Vocal Expressions: louder, lower pitch, lower resonance
Verbal Expressions: profanity, but not putdowns
Synonyms: rage, tantrum, fury
Purpose
Anger makes threats more credible. An angry threat is more credible than calmly stating “I am being coerced by revenge to harm you”. Anger makes revenge and jealousy tangible.
Anger stops revenge and jealousy without physically harming anyone. Credibly threatening someone harms them by triggering their fear.
Anger, like cooperation, is a good idea we learn from others.
Preceding Emotions
Anger makes threats more credible. An angry threat is more credible than calmly stating “I am being coerced by revenge to harm you”. Anger makes revenge and jealousy tangible.
Anger stops revenge and jealousy without physically harming anyone. Credibly threatening someone harms them by triggering their fear.
Anger, like cooperation, is a good idea we learn from others.
Preceding Emotions
Anger usually follows revenge or jealousy.
Anger does not always follow revenge or jealousy. People rarely express anger when their bosses or the police are present. People rarely express anger when they are alone. If they do, they imagine they are with others.
Anger is not always preceded by revenge or jealousy. Homeowners use anger to deter intruders. Mothers use anger to control children.
Children can express anger as soon as they learn it from others. Prior to 24 months, children just express anger to obtain cooperation from others. After 24 months, children also express anger because they feel revenge. After puberty, men also express anger because they feel jealousy.
Facial Expressions
Anger’s facial expressions show your ability to attack. Glaring indicates the completion of visual targeting. Flared nostrils indicate elevated breathing. Curled lips show teeth, our best natural weapons. Clenched jaws highlight muscles that power those weapons.
Vocal Expressions
Anger’s vocal expressions suggest masculinity and therefore large size. Vocal expressions are louder, lower pitch and lower resonance. Angry people make nonsensical statements just to yell. Parents often express anger by just dropping the tone of their voice half an octave.
Verbal Expressions
Anger’s verbal expressions include profanity, but exclude putdowns.
Profanity is subtle snarling. Profane words show your teeth. Words with hard k’s are particularly good for showing teeth. Fuck and cunt are considered more profane than shit and piss, despite triggering less imagined disgust. Fuck and cunt are more profane because they show more teeth.
While profanity is just a threat to harm, putdowns cross the line and cause harm. Putdowns cross the line by triggering somebody’s humiliation. Confrontations often escalate from profanity to putdowns to violence.
Other Species
Elephants express anger. After one member of a herd of working elephants was killed by a bus on a highway in Kenya, the remaining elephants began shrieking at the bus and threatening to charge it. The elephants threatened harm, but did not harm anyone. They left when Kenyan Wildlife Service Wardens arrived and fired shots into the air, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Anger does not always follow revenge or jealousy. People rarely express anger when their bosses or the police are present. People rarely express anger when they are alone. If they do, they imagine they are with others.
Anger is not always preceded by revenge or jealousy. Homeowners use anger to deter intruders. Mothers use anger to control children.
Children can express anger as soon as they learn it from others. Prior to 24 months, children just express anger to obtain cooperation from others. After 24 months, children also express anger because they feel revenge. After puberty, men also express anger because they feel jealousy.
Facial Expressions
Anger’s facial expressions show your ability to attack. Glaring indicates the completion of visual targeting. Flared nostrils indicate elevated breathing. Curled lips show teeth, our best natural weapons. Clenched jaws highlight muscles that power those weapons.
Vocal Expressions
Anger’s vocal expressions suggest masculinity and therefore large size. Vocal expressions are louder, lower pitch and lower resonance. Angry people make nonsensical statements just to yell. Parents often express anger by just dropping the tone of their voice half an octave.
Verbal Expressions
Anger’s verbal expressions include profanity, but exclude putdowns.
Profanity is subtle snarling. Profane words show your teeth. Words with hard k’s are particularly good for showing teeth. Fuck and cunt are considered more profane than shit and piss, despite triggering less imagined disgust. Fuck and cunt are more profane because they show more teeth.
While profanity is just a threat to harm, putdowns cross the line and cause harm. Putdowns cross the line by triggering somebody’s humiliation. Confrontations often escalate from profanity to putdowns to violence.
Other Species
Elephants express anger. After one member of a herd of working elephants was killed by a bus on a highway in Kenya, the remaining elephants began shrieking at the bus and threatening to charge it. The elephants threatened harm, but did not harm anyone. They left when Kenyan Wildlife Service Wardens arrived and fired shots into the air, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
Happiness Dissected is a more practical version of The Origin of Emotions.