Self-enhancement, righteous anger, and moral grandiosity

Do people self-enhance by dwelling in righteous anger in an effort to preserve their self-views as pillars of morality? We addressed this question in two experiments. Participants read a story about an injustice (experiencing righteous anger) or grocery shopping (experiencing neutral emotion), indic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inSelf and identity Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 201 - 216
Main Authors Green, Jeffrey D., Sedikides, Constantine, Van Tongeren, Daryl R., Behler, Anna M. C., Barber, Jessica M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hove Routledge 04.03.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
anger
emotion regulation
Injustice
moral grandiosity
Morality
Presidential elections
Self-enhancement
self-views
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Do people self-enhance by dwelling in righteous anger in an effort to preserve their self-views as pillars of morality? We addressed this question in two experiments. Participants read a story about an injustice (experiencing righteous anger) or grocery shopping (experiencing neutral emotion), indicated their interest in reading injustice-relevant or happiness-relevant newspaper articles, and rated themselves on moral and agentic traits. Participants who experienced righteous anger (vs. neutral emotion) maintained their anger (i.e., exhibited stronger interest in reading injustice- than happiness-relevant articles) and rated themselves more positively on moral, but not on agentic, traits. Furthermore, anger maintenance mediated the effect of righteous anger on moral grandiosity. The findings illustrate tactical self-enhancement: the instrumental use of one's negative emotions for self-enhancement purposes.
ISSN:1529-8868
1529-8876
DOI:10.1080/15298868.2017.1419504