Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion [Paperback]

Carol Tavris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1989

"This landmark book" (San Francisco Chronicle) dispels the common myths about the causes and uses of anger -- for example, that expressing anger is always good for you, that suppressing anger is always unhealthy, or that women have special "anger problems" that men do not. Dr. Carol Tavris expertly examines every facet of that fascinating emotion -- from genetics to stress to the rage for justice.

Fully revised and updated, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion now includes:

* A new consideration of biological politics: Should testosterone or PMS excuse rotten tempers or aggressive actions?

* The five conditions under which anger is likely to be effective -- and when it's not.

* Strategies for solving specific anger problems -- chronic anger, dealing with difficult people, repeated family battles, anger after divorce or victimization, and aggressive children.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Revised from the 1983 edition, this update includes new material on highway anger and violence in sports, young women's anger, and strategies for getting through specific anger problems, chronic anger, family anger, etc. Still "recommended for most popular collections" ( LJ 1/1/83). BOMC and Quality Paperback alternate selections; serialized in Psychology Today and Reader's Digest. -- MR
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Los Angeles Times Witty, provocative, and impressively documented, this work lights a candle in cursed darkness.

Dr. Ashley Montagu author of The Nature of Human Aggression This book is not only the best of its kind ever written, but the most helpfully enlightening I have ever read.

The New York Times Intelligent and witty, Tavris shows us how to use the anger of hope to avoid falling into the anger of despair.

Philadelphia Inquirer Enlightening and reassuring. Her calm approach to a volatile subject is a welcome tonic for our times.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone / Simon & Schuster; Revised edition (September 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671675230
• ISBN-13: 978-0671675233
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Tavris is a social psychologist, writer, and lecturer whose goal is to promote psychological science and critical thinking in improving our lives. She is coauthor, with Elliot Aronson, of "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by ME): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts." Her other major books include the landmark "Anger: The misunderstood emotion," a book well known for its critical look at unvalidated notions about the inevitability of anger and the need to "ventilate" it, and how anger can best be expressed constructively. She is also author of the award-winning "The Mismeasure of Woman: Why women are not the better sex, the inferior sex, or the opposite sex," and coauthor of two widely used textbooks for introductory psychology. She has written hundreds of essays and book reviews on topics in psychological science, and is a highly regarded lecturer who has spoken to groups around the world, from New Zealand to Finland. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a Charter Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and a member of the editorial board of the APS journal "Psychological Science in the Public Interest."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Companion to Lerner's The Dance of Anger., July 18, 2001

By 

tamiii "tamiii" (San Juan Capistrano, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (Paperback)

Carol Tavris offers some very practical advice. Apart from when the expression of anger is intended to dissolve a relationship, anger becomes effective when: (1) the anger is directed at the offending person (telling friends may increase anger); (2) the expression satisfies your need to influence the situation and/or correct an injustice; and, (3) your approach seems likely to change the other person's behavior, which means you can express yourself so they can understand your point of view and so they will cooperate with you. She takes issue with those who would encourage venting. Like Harriet Goldhor Lerner, her goal is change.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book but many find it hard to swallow, July 19, 1999

By 

D. Hicks (Byron, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (Paperback)

I first read this book about eight years ago. Though some of Ms. Tavris' analysis is suspect, the vast majority is well-founded and accurate IF YOU APPROACH IT WITH AN OPEN MIND. Unfortunately, simply implying that anger is a learned, self-controllable response provokes a very angry reaction in many people (see other reviews) that makes it hard to get the point across. Tavris has a lot to say. Unfortunately, very few people will listen.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious book worth reading, June 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion (Paperback)

Dr. Tavris has based this book on serious research on the subject of anger. She debunks many of the pop myths about the purpose of anger and helps the reader to understand the causes of expressed anger. Her central point is that anger is a self-reinforcing mechanism that does not have healthy outcomes in itself. She explains the physiological purpose and effects of anger, pointing out that we really don't need to be angry in our lives.

Instead she suggests various models and techniques to help understand what "sets us off" and how to manage anger. A number of situations are covered and illustrated by personal and clinical examples.

This is not a prescription for a quick fix for quick tempers - while Dr. Tavris is sympathetic about the many reasons why we get angry, she avoids simplistic behavioral techniques as well as overly introspective ones