Validating a test to measure the awareness and expression of anger

Abstract

Experimental, physiological, and theoretical literature on anger is reviewed briefly. It is concluded that there is a lack of consensus on standard definitions of anger, or on the nature of anger. The Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, The Oken Scale, The Gottschalk-Gleser Content Analysis Scales, and, The Reaction Inventory are reviewed and dismissed as adequate instruments for the measurement of the awareness and expression of anger. The awareness and Expression of Anger Indicator (AEAI) is presented as a test which purports to measure different dimensions of anger. Existing psychometric data on the AEAI is reviewed and it is concluded that further psychometric study on the reliability and validity of the AEAI is needed. The results indicate that the AEAI demonstrates 1. adequate internal reliability; 2. a factor structure which supports a distinction between non-induced awareness, expression and induced awareness of anger, 3. that there is some evidence of convergence between AEAI awareness measures and other awareness of anger measures, but no evidence of convergence between AEAI expression of anger measures and other measures of the same trait; and, 4. that AEAI scores show no positive relationship to scores on the social desirability sale but correlate positively with a measure of subjects' beliefs about the consequences of expressing anger. Discussion focuses on the effects of a weighting system on AEAI scores, the multidimensional nature of anger, and on more general issues in testing.