Fear, anger, and risk

Drawing on an appraisal-tendency framework (J. S. Lerner & D. Keltner, 2000), the authors predicted and found that fear and anger have opposite effects on risk perception. Whereas fearful people expressed pessimistic risk estimates and risk-averse choices, angry people expressed optimistic risk...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of personality and social psychology Vol. 81; no. 1; p. 146
Main Authors Lerner, J S, Keltner, D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.07.2001
Subjects
Adult
Anger
Choice Behavior
Decision Making
Fear - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Risk
Risk-Taking
United States
United States
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Summary:Drawing on an appraisal-tendency framework (J. S. Lerner & D. Keltner, 2000), the authors predicted and found that fear and anger have opposite effects on risk perception. Whereas fearful people expressed pessimistic risk estimates and risk-averse choices, angry people expressed optimistic risk estimates and risk-seeking choices. These opposing patterns emerged for naturally occurring and experimentally induced fear and anger. Moreover, estimates of angry people more closely resembled those of happy people than those of fearful people. Consistent with predictions, appraisal tendencies accounted for these effects: Appraisals of certainty and control moderated and (in the case of control) mediated the emotion effects. As a complement to studies that link affective valence to judgment outcomes, the present studies highlight multiple benefits of studying specific emotions.
ISSN:0022-3514
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.81.1.146