International Handbook of Anger: Constituent and Concomitant Biological, Psychological, and Social Processes [Hardcover]

Michael Potegal (Editor), Gerhard Stemmler (Editor), Charles Spielberger (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387896759 | ISBN-13: 978-0387896755 | Publication Date: February 24, 2010 | Edition: 1st Edition.

Book covers a broader range of topics than other books in this area. Notably, extensive coverage of the neurobiology of anger in context of psychology and sociology is unique. Book provides broad, integrative coverage while avoiding unnecessary duplication. Contributors have read each others’ chapters and there is extensive cross-referencing from chapter to chapter. Book contains a guide to content and organization of chapters and topics, along with interpolated commentary at the end of each section.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: “The editors of this large, lengthy, and (for the most part) lively book … have done an excellent job of drawing together respected scholar­–researchers in different areas of psychology and related disciplines (e.g., sociology, political science) to present contemporary perspectives on this dynamic and influential emotion. … There are 32 chapters, each of which has an abstract to orient the reader. … References are helpfully placed at the end of chapters … . Researchers, teachers, and students of emotion should certainly read this book.” (Dana S. Dunn, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 55 (39), September, 2010)

From the Back Cover

International Handbook of Anger Constituent and Concomitant Biological, Psychological, and Social Processes Edited by Michael Potegal, University of Minnesota Medical Center Gerhard Stemmler, Philipps-Universitat, Marburg, Germany Charles Spielberger, University of South Florida   From the individual rage-driven violence of domestic abuse to the destructive causes and lasting consequences of large scale ethnic and political conflict, anger and its effects are ubiquitous in human life, and are the focus of intense study across many scientific disciplines: fields as varied as affective neuroscience, health science, psychology, psychophysiology, and sociology have all contributed to recent advances in the understanding of anger. The editors of the International Handbook of Anger bring these major contributions together for a unique portrayal of the many aspects of anger—evolutionary and biological bases, behavioral processes and effects, physiological concomitants, clinical aspects, and role in the larger social picture—with coverage that is both wide-ranging and integrative. State-of-the-art findings by highly regarded experts are organized for maximum utility, with extensive cross-referencing between chapters and editors’ introductory commentary linking the book’s sections. A sampling of the coverage in the Handbook: Historical views and roles of anger in Western and nonwestern cultures. Current genetic, neurological, neurochemical, and psychophysiological perspectives. Cross-cultural expressions: facial, vocal, and linguistic. Affective, motivational, and cognitive processes in anger. Gender differences in anger triggers, experience, and behavior. Anger in development and across the lifespan: Infancy, childhood and adulthood Assessing anger, hostility, and anger control. Clinical aspects: psychopathology, anger and chronic pain, "Type A" behavior and cardiovascular health. Anger in family, small-group, and large-group conflict. The International Handbook of Anger presents a wealth of deep and detailed knowledge relevant to clinical and health psychology, social work, family studies, and anger management, among other fields. Its depth and breadth of coverage will make it a definitive volume informing research and practice in the years ahead.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 604 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (February 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387896759
• ISBN-13: 978-0387896755
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,627,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A broad overview of the field, October 9, 2011

By 

John D. Wynn (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: International Handbook of Anger: Constituent and Concomitant Biological, Psychological, and Social Processes (Hardcover)

This is a scholarly compendium of current thinking on the biology, evolution, ethology, development, clinical phenomenology, and psychotherapy of anger. The book is divided into nine sections, comprising 32 dense, well-referenced chapters. The flow and content of the work reveals an active editorial team, with frequent internal cross-referencing that reinforces the authoritative quality of the work. The hardcover edition is well-constructed to be a frequently consulted book for researchers and curious clinicians alike. A Kindle edition is also available.

The early chapters are uniformly excellent introductions to the physiology, psychopharmacology and general controversies in anger research. Inter-species and cross-cultural studies are surveyed, leading to sophisticated, detailed discussions of relevant childhood, adolescent and adult developmental phenomena, including developmental failures and their sequelae.
Sociological perspectives provide a useful introduction to the clinical aspects of anger, including anger relationships with pain, psychopathology and psychotherapy. The final section addresses family, workplace and community views of parental discipline, intimate violence, conflict negotiation and political science.

The writing varies from dry recitations of a vast research literature to stimulating, at times provocative analyses of how anger modulation emerges in children and matures over the lifespan. While the work as a whole is oriented to the researcher, clinicians will be rewarded with neurobehavioral, cognitive, dynamic and family-systems perspectives elaborated by capable authors. The references are numerous and the index is a useful, if not comprehensive, guide to the 32 chapters. Intended to be a "handbook," the discussions are often guides to the extensive literature that stretches from ancient Greece to Darwin to modern war-torn Central and South America.

Few clinicians will read this book in its entirety: a few of the basic psychology research literature reviews may be tiresome, and even some of the controversies will hold little interest to therapists and psychopharmacologists. But there are many insights and stimulating discussions to reward the pick-and-choose reader, especially in chapters addressing developmental, social, clinical, occupational and political affairs.