On the Distinct Political Effects of Anxiety and Anger
On the Distinct Political Effects of Anxiety and Anger
This chapter tries to differentiate between anger and anxiety as distinct negative reactions to the Iraq war and explores their unique political effects. The distinct effects of anger and anxiety make clear the need to better understand their political consequences. The link between negative emotion and deeper levels of thought does not appear to extend to anger. Complex negative objects such as war and terrorism elicit diverse negative reactions. Americans had related but distinct feelings of anger and anxiety toward the war, terrorists, Saddam Hussein, and anti-war protesters. As anxiety and anger increase, respondents are more likely to report thinking about the Iraq war, talking about it, and, to a more limited extent, attending to national television news and newspapers. In general, the results raise serious concerns about the prevailing two-dimensional valence model of emotion.
Keywords: anger, anxiety, Iraq war, terrorism, Saddam Hussein, terrorists, anti-war protesters, valence model
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.