Finding the attractor of anger: bridging the gap between dynamic concepts and empirical data.
Although it accounts for the prototypical course of emotions, the attractor concept has hardly ever been used empirically. Authors applied Empirical Differential Equations (EDE) to frequent (hourly) anger ratings to find the attractor of anger. The attractor concept, its neurological basis, and EDE are explained. The attractor of anger follows an underdamped oscillator, and is affected by the capacity to inhibit prepotent responses. Anger accelerates less fast when inhibitory control increases. Results stress the internal dynamics of emotions, and help to bridge the gap between concepts from dynamic systems theory and empirical data.
Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, Netherlands. jb.hoeksma@psy.vu.nl
Jan B
JB
Hoeksma
Jaap
J
Oosterlaan
Eline
E
Schipper
Hans
H
Koot
D000293:Adolescent; D000786:Anger; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D036262:Empirical Research; D019260:Expressed Emotion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time