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SUCCESSFUL DISAPPEARANCE

The success with which the emotion of anger disappears is a matter of wide individual difference with the persons studied. With some the reporting of the emotion from the introspection notes tended to reinstate the emotion. One subject was frequently disturbed by the reappearance of the emotion during the report. In one instance he refused to report to the writer for three days afterward. He reports he could not recall the situation without the reappearance of the anger in its unpleasant form. Other persons could rarely reinstate an emotion in any unpleasant form over night. At times the anger was reinstated in its pleasant aspect. Sometimes a feeling of exaltation was displayed. The subject showed he enjoyed recalling the emotion. Imagined and carefully devised schemes of retaliation were often rehearsed with pleasure. Again the observation would be a feeling of indifference, as something past and finished. Often the statement was given, "The whole thing seems ludicrous and amusing to me now."

The most unsuccessful condition for the disappearance of anger is one commonly used in emergencies--that of changing the attention and avoiding the offensive idea. Intense anger usually returns when diminished in this manner. The attitude of indifference and over-politeness usually serves only as a temporary device of removal for the purpose of expeditious control. Mere repression is not always most successful.

CONSCIOUS AFTER-EFFECTS

Anger has an important influence upon mental life and behavior long after the emotion itself has disappeared. The functional effect of anger may be disclosed in a period after the emotion proper has disappeared. Other emotions may immediately follow anger, such as pity, regret, sorrow, joy, shame, remorse, love and fear. Feelings and tendencies are left over which the subject is fully aware are directly related to the previous emotion. For purposes of study, the period after the emotion will be divided into two parts; first, that immediately after the emotion has disappeared, and second, the more or less remote period of indefinite time. The reaction while the emotion is present, and the way in which the emotion disappears, are conditions which determine to a large extent what will consciously appear after the emotion has passed away. With the aim of finding out what mental factors follow in the wake of anger, the subjects were instructed to keep account of any sort of consciousness of which they were aware as referring either directly or indirectly to the previous emotion observed.

Pity is frequently associated with anger. Mild anger may merge into pity at the point where attention changes from the situation exciting anger to the effects of angry behavior on the offender. Pity often follows the imaginal humiliation of the person committing the offense. It follows more readily when the emotion is against children, servants, dependents or persons with whom there is close intimacy. A kind of self-pity is sometimes associated with anger. With one subject, a mildly pleasant self-pity would frequently follow anger at an injury. At times there is found a curious mixture of anger and self-pity. H. observes, "At times I would be angry, then at other times I would find myself taking a peculiar pleasure in rehearsing my injuries and feeling rather pitiful for one who had been mistreated like myself." An observation from C. will illustrate the suddenness of the transition from mild anger to pity. Angry at a clerk for a slight offense, he observes, "As I turned away I said to myself, 'I wish that fellow would lose his place,' but at once I felt a little pity for him and said, 'No, that would be too bad, he has a hard time putting up with all these people.'" Subject A., angry at a child observes, "I found myself tending to punish him, I saw his face, it looked innocent and trusting, that restrained me, I now thought, 'Poor little fellow, he does not know any better,' and I felt a pity for him to think that such a person as myself had the correcting of him."

Shame may follow in the wake of anger. It arises rather suddenly in the disappearing stage of the emotion when attention is directed to the results of the angry behavior just finished. Both shame and pity, following anger, are usually a condition of immunity against the reappearance of the same emotion. After shame appears, a reaction usually follows in the effort to compensate in some fashion. Subject C. observes, "Becoming aware of my act and how it appeared, I now felt ashamed and humiliated at what I had said. In a few minutes I brought it about to offer him a favor and felt pleased when it was accepted. I had really been trying to convince him that I was not angry, and now felt that I was doing it." Subject C. observes, "I noted that they saw I was angry and at once I felt ashamed. I now began to laugh the matter off as if trying to show I was not." At times during mild anger when the emotion is displayed too impulsively and the bounds of caution have been overstepped, exposing one's self to a too easy attack from an opponent, an uncomfortable feeling of chagrin appears. The anger may be displayed in too crude a fashion, consequently an advantage is given to the opponent which was not intended. Anxiety that the opponent may take the hostile thrust too seriously or fear of the consequence, may suddenly displace anger. Instead of an offending person, the same person now suddenly becomes one exciting anxiety or fear.

A fourth affective condition of the immediate after-period of anger is an active pleasantness. Anger disappears and joy takes its place. The condition, originally exciting anger, is no longer able to reproduce the emotion as the subject has become the victor and the offense is recompensed. The goal of anger from its impulsive and feeling side is to be found in the pleasurable victorious affection in the after-period of the emotion. Any anger possesses possibilities of pleasantness in its after-stage. If an objective victory cannot be had, a subjective one plays the part of a surrogate. The processes of imagination, make-believe and disguise, as previously discussed, become devices directly referring to the aim of pleasurable feelings in the after-period of anger. The motivation is to avoid the unpleasant emotions and feelings in the wake of anger and acquire the feeling of victory. The tendency to humor and jocular behavior after anger is sometimes observed. The subject tends to recall his feelings of success and relive them, self-confidence and positive self-feelings are increased.

The feeling of friendliness toward the offender may follow anger which has been successfully expressed. Spinoza was right when he said, "An act of offense may indirectly give origin to love." It is frequently observed in the after-period of anger, "I felt more friendly toward him after my emotion had disappeared." In fact an unusual friendliness with a desire to bestow favors was often observed. We like a man better after we have been angry at him in a successful manner. The emotional attitude is entirely changed toward an opponent who has been overcome, if he allows the victory. It is the unreasoning person who never becomes aware of his defeat, against whom hate follows anger.

Feelings of unpleasant irritation usually follow anger when social or other conditions prevent adequate expression. These feelings seem to be the medium by which the situation exciting anger is repeatedly recalled. The emotion which appears from the imagined situation usually does not leave such intense unpleasant feelings, as the subject tends to attain in his deliberate moments, to some degree, an inner victory over his opponent, or to find an adequate excuse for his behavior. Either of these reactions may be successful enough to exclude irritable feelings in the after-period. Irritation after controlled anger is the medium for the so-called transfer of the emotion from an offending to an unoffending object, which is so often observed. In the after-period of irritation, it is a rather common observation of the subjects, "I was looking for something or somebody at whom I could get angry." "I felt I wanted to hurt somebody." In fact irritation in the after-period becomes an essentially affective element in a situation from which may arise a new anger of a different type. The first anger may have arisen from a fore-period of humiliation, while the latter is from that of irritation.

There is evidence that the affective state in the after-period of anger has a compensating relation to the emotion that has just passed, not unlike the compensation role played between the anger proper and the feeling fore-stage from which it arises. The reactive stage of anger tends to over-compensate for the unpleasant feelings of irritation and humiliation in the fore-period of anger by either increasing the pleasantness or diminishing unpleasantness. If the reaction is incomplete and has not adequately met the emotional crisis of the moment, irritation may follow with a tendency to continue further the emotion, or if the reaction has gone too far, it is paid for by the appearance in the after-stage of other emotions of social origin, such as fear, shame, pity, etc. The feeling of relief occurs after the expression has nearly restored consciousness to about the same affective level as before the beginning of the emotion; but with active pleasure, a higher affective level has been attained and the subject feels he was glad to have been angry. There is a heightened effect in the affective state following anger; a sort of over-compensation, which is a little out of proportion to the behavior apart from the anger itself. If the after-period is one of pleasantness, the feeling is increased far more because of what the subject has done during the emotion, for it is evident if the same mental processes and behavior occur without anger, the pleasantness is less. Joy is a good example of the intensification of the emotion in the after-period of anger which is out of proportion to the idea stimulating it. The relation between the fore-period, the anger proper, and the after-period is so intimate in anger that the writer has had it repeatedly impressed upon him in making the present study, that to solve some of the important problems of our emotional life, this relation must be taken into account. The entire gamut of the emotional consciousness for each emotion must be studied from the initial feeling stage to the termination of the conscious content after the emotion has disappeared. The emotions do not appear as separate effective entities, but have an intimate relation which is important in the study of their psychology.

Mild anger may leave the subject in a state of curiosity. A feeling of doubt as to the motivation of the offender may appear, and curiosity follows with an awareness of a tendency for anger to reappear if the occasion should arise. After the emotion has passed, the subject is aware of tendencies or attitudes, referring directly to the mental behavior, which were present during the emotion. An attitude of indifference toward the offender and offending situation follows what has been called the indifferent type of reaction. The emotion of anger may leave the subject in a state of confidence toward himself, positive self-feelings have been reached as a result of the entire experience. On the other hand, slightly reduced self-feelings may follow if the reaction to anger has been unsuccessful. It may leave the subject in either a heightened or a lowered opinion of the offender. A previously friendly interest in the person committing the offense may be increased or otherwise. A feeling of amusement at one's behavior when recalling it after the emotion has disappeared, is often reported. The subject stands off, as it were, and views his own response to anger as if he were a spectator rather than a partaker of his emotion. What the subject did when angry seems so incongruous with his mental state after the emotion has disappeared, that it strikes him as ludicrous. Laughter and amusement frequently appear in the recall of the emotional situation.

The effects of anger may extend far beyond the period immediately after the emotion has disappeared. The more remote after-period, after the immediate effects have passed off or been modified, have important results in our mental life. The momentum, acquired during anger by determined emotional outburst, may be a reenforcement to volitional action and may allow old habits to be more quickly broken down and new ones formed. If an error has been repeatedly made with increased irritation, till the subject has been thoroughly aroused to anger at himself, the tendency to repeat the error is usually successfully forestalled by an attitude of caution and determination following the emotion. The possible failure may be prevented by mild anger at the imagined humiliating result, which increases volitional action to a point insuring success, and a new momentum is acquired which may have far reaching influences. Slight habitual mistakes, like errors in typewriting or speaking, repeated forgetting of details, and social blunders, are reported as cured by anger.

Mild prolonged anger which has not had a fully satisfactory expression may leave in its wake a fighting attitude which if transferred into work enables the subject to acquire new levels of activity. A record from C. will illustrate. He observes, "I would not allow myself to be dejected, but have planned to fight and dig into it like everything. These emotions are the greatest stimuli I have. I get angry, then I want to get down to work for all I am worth." On the other hand, anger which has been successfully expressed may be followed by a feeling of satisfaction in the result and an attitude of success, which gives momentum for increased volitional action in the future.

There is usually a residuum from intense anger which may appear long after the anger has consciously disappeared. The recall of the situation which had previously excited anger may have little or no feeling; merely indifference is present. Sometimes feelings of resentment and dislike are observed, while at other times, there is amusement. It frequently happens that while the situation which has previously excited the emotion may be accompanied by indifference upon its being recalled either voluntarily or involuntarily, there follows an emotion of dislike and hate. The incident itself may be almost forgotten, or not recalled at all, but the result of anger is to be observed in tendencies and emotional dispositions left in the wake of the emotion. An over-critical attitude, with something of a gossipy tendency and hostile suspicion in which the bounds of justice are partly ignored, may long continue to reappear after the emotion itself has passed away and the situation has been forgotten. It is rather probable that a single strong outburst of anger does not leave the hostile emotional disposition in its wake. It is usually the mild anger, preceded by much feeling of humiliation and anger which tends to recur again and again till it has settled to a hostile disposition toward the offender. It is reported in some instances to refer to the offender's way of talking, laughing, manner of walking, his mode of dressing; in fact any chance idea of the offender's behavior may be sufficient to allow a feeling of dislike and disgust to appear.

There is a relation between the immediate after-period of anger and the more remote one that is important. If anger is immediately followed by such emotions as pity, shame, regret or fear, any positive tendency left over in the remote after-period from the emotion itself is apparently lacking. There is, however, a negative effect. The subject is immune to re-experience the same emotion from the same emotional situation again, but anger which has disappeared with unpleasant feelings may tend to recur in a rather prolonged after-period and may finally settle into an emotional disposition and mental attitude which play an important role in behavior and later feelings. It seems to be true, that when anger disappears consciously in such a manner that the subject is aware that his wishes have not been satisfied and the disappearance is followed by unpleasant feelings, the immediate after-period is rather barren as compared with the out-cropping which appears in a more remote period after the emotion. In anger, when sudden control is required, the subject is forced to attend to something else or react contrary to the emotional tendency to save himself a later humiliation. The immediate after-period is usually one of unpleasantness and tension. Under such circumstances, the tendency to recur again and again is characteristic and if, in some later recurrence or expression through the imaginative process, it does not end satisfactorily, it may settle down to an emotional disposition and mental attitude.

Anger that arises from a fore-period of irritation in which the subject suddenly bursts out with emotion may have an immediate after-period of irritation, but it leaves little in the remote after-period; the subject is aware that the emotion is finished. Anger which ends with active pleasantness of victory leaves an attitude of confidence and success toward the situation which has excited the emotion. There is little tendency for the emotion, disappearing in this fashion, to reappear except in its pleasant stage. With a consciousness of complete victory in the immediate after-period, there is established an attitude of positive self-feeling and confidence toward the situation exciting the emotion so that a practical immunity against the reappearance of anger in its unpleasant stage is reached as a negative result of the emotion. There are wide individual differences in the ability of the subjects studied to allow anger to disappear, leaving a pleasant after-period. C. reports but few instances in which his anger disappeared with a fully satisfactory result. He consequently has a wealth of emotional dispositions and mental attitudes following anger. On the other hand F. and E., whose anger emotions are less intense, are early able either to attain an inner victory or to react contrary to the emotion and leave an after-period of immunity against its reappearance from the same mental situation. Hence the tendencies and dispositions left over in the after-period of their anger are less. E.'s dislikes are short lived. It is probable that some subjects have acquired the habit of shortening their emotions of anger, short-cutting the unpleasant period of restraint and early acquiring the after-period of relief, humor or it may be indifference, before the emotion has developed far.

Secondly, anger might be classified as exciting or calm. The exciting anger has greater tension during the period of the emotion proper. There is usually less co-ordination and greater intensity of feeling which may be either pleasant or unpleasant. The motor reactions are more prominent than the mental reactions. On the other hand, calm anger usually has a longer observable fore and after-period of the emotion. Mental processes are intensified, the motor expression is correspondingly less.

Anger may be classified according to its function. The emotion may be merely an end in itself. It relieves the tension of unpleasant feelings. It is purgative in its effect in removing an unpleasant mental situation. The underlying purpose of such anger is not to increase volitional action, in fact, it may disturb co-ordination to any purposive end. This type serves primarily to remove the tension of unpleasant accumulations of feelings in some act of expression. If successful in its purpose, it may have an indirect hygienic effect on mental action. Further, anger may be of a kind which intensifies volitional action, accomplishes work, and serves the end of survival. A residuum in mental attitude and emotional disposition follows, which has possibilities either of morbidity or a source of energy which is sublimated into work.

Anger may be classified genetically on the basis of sentiments which are violated in its origin. Anger which springs from a thwarting of desires is primary in its origin. This is the usual type of anger of young children and animals. Anger which has its source in the self-feelings, such as the sentiments of honor and self respect and in social feelings, of injustice, of fairness, are genetically later in their development.

A second type of anger is predetermined by another sort of mental disposition. Self-feelings are its source. An idea excites negative self-feeling and anger follows as a reaction with the purpose of restoring positive feelings of self. It usually has a greater proportion of pleasantness than the type described above. Its end is to attain pleasantness in some form of positive self-feeling, and when that is successfully reached the emotion disappears. Any idea from a subjective or objective source which intensifies positive feelings of self, tends to diminish emotion of this type. The thwarting of a desire, due to the damage and inconvenience done, is insignificant as compared with the thrust that one's pride and self-respect have received. In the type above, there is thwarting of desire; while in this type, there is humiliation. In fact in the latter type, serious inconvenience may be suffered in the effort to heal a wounded self respect. Anger of this type is not so indefinite in its objective reference. It has direct reference to an offender before the point of anger has been reached, and another person or object cannot be substituted with any degree of satisfaction. Anger of this type leaves an important residuum after the emotion has disappeared in the form of other affective processes, in tendencies, mental attitudes and dispositions, some of which have possibilities of morbidity, others mere pleasantness or sublimation into work.

A third type of anger is that which springs from social sentiments involving justice and fairness. It has little unpleasant fore-period and arises suddenly without the initial cumulative feeling development which is usual with the other types described. The point of anger is more readily reached; the emotion is nearer the surface as if it were ready for a sudden rise. The origin of anger of this type is not unlike anger which springs rather suddenly from an emotional disposition left over from the second type described above. The expression of the emotion in this type is less restrained, it is usually reported as pleasant throughout. While anger of this type is sensitive to justice and fairness, the two types above may grossly disregard these sentiments. In its wake is often observed the tendency to reappear. The after-period has not the possibilities of so intense pleasure as the second type above, nor of morbidity, nor of a disposition capable of being sublimated into work.

The three types above may occur in a rather pure form but frequently they are mixed. When desire has been thwarted or pride has been wounded, a sense of miscarried justice or fairness with reference to self, intensifies the emotion. In addition to lowered self-feeling, the social sentiment of justice and fairness may re-enforce the irascible feelings or negative feelings of self. At times make-believe of offended fairness is assumed to justify the angry behavior, and consequently increases the intensity and allows pleasurable expression when the subject is vaguely aware that the real cause is his own selfish pride which has been wounded.

EDUCATIONAL FUNCTION

From the present study, anger may be said to have a two fold functional meaning. First it intensifies volitional action in a useful direction. Second, viewed from the mental conditions under which it occurs, it may be a superfluous affectivity and is largely an end in itself. These two functions are not to be separated. In fact any single emotion of anger in its different stages of reaction may be merely hedonic, it may serve a directly useful purpose or it may be both. These two functional aspects of anger are the basis for pedagogical conclusions.

Education has to do with the function of anger in human needs, in growth and development and in mental hygiene. Ethics has at times advocated the elimination of anger as if it were a noxious product. From a pedagogical view, it should be cultivated and excited aright. The familiar moral exhortations, "Let not the sun go down on your wrath," "Love your enemies and do good to those that hate you," and others like them, are in accord with some satisfactory individual reactions to anger from the feeling side, which have been cited; but their universal application would not always serve the purpose of ethics. In pedagogical practice, they would fall short. A good healthy resentment is, at times, a good thing and should be kept alive. The emotion, if it works, must not die out too satisfactorily at the cost of real effort. There should be a working residuum for the time when it is needed. An injury may be forgiven too quickly and resentment given up too easily. A healthy fighting attitude, increased caution and willed action turned into productive work is often subverted for an immediate satisfactory ending of the emotion. There are none of the subjects studied but observe this wholesome effect of anger at times. Anger may disappear successfully and satisfactorily on the side of the feelings. The subject may attain the full sense of victory by a number of devices of make-believe, substitution, disguise, etc. An inner victory may be a good thing. In fact, all subjects would, at times, resort to imaginative processes motivated by the feeling and impulsive side of the emotion. A subjective satisfaction may in fact save the day, clear the mental atmosphere, so to speak, and allow mental life to continue along its habitual lines. On the other hand, a subjective victory may become too easy. On the verge of defeat, victory is at times imagined which takes the place of real volition. The fight may be carried too far through the medium of ideas leaving little enthusiasm for actual effort. A too easy habit of excusing the offender at times serves an unprofitable end. Anger should not be cut off too near its beginning by finding excuses too readily for the offender or offending situation. It should at least be allowed to get a little above the initial feeling stage to keep the emotional life alive or there is danger of lapsing into obliviousness to essential rights; mental life becomes too prosaic and commonplace, on a plateau with no capacity to acquire new levels.

A second point of which the writer is convinced, is that in order to study the emotions, especially the deep seated primary emotions like fear and anger, it is necessary to take into account the finer working of the emotion in its feeling and impulsive stage of development and disappearance. In fact, the milder tenuous emotions of anger are markedly important from the educational side as well as psychologically. The normal function of the emotion is better exemplified in the less intense experiences. Anger, as it is usually thought of, is the emotion in its excited uncontrolled stage. Anger, sublimated into keener intellectual and willed action, is no less anger though its affective side is less intense; its reactive side is working in better accord with the evolutionary function of the emotion,--to intensify action in a needed direction. In fact, affective processes of indignation, resentment and irascible feelings which are not called anger in the popular sense, from the scientific side should be considered a part of the anger consciousness. They have the feeling fore-stage of humiliation and an intellectual reaction; the residuum of the affective process has every mark of that victorious satisfaction, which is typical of anger.

Such tenuous resentments which persist for years, it may be, against people with whom one is on friendly terms, and which are accompanied by a rather sudden rise in the curve of personal growth, are evidently an essential part of the anger consciousness. Smaller achievements of individual worth are often reported to be the direct result of a healthy sort of reaction from resentment. It is entirely probable that most persons, especially those of irascible disposition, could point to sudden spurts in their own personal development and achievement, which were motivated by anger which never reached the stage of intense excitability or from the residuum of exciting anger which disappeared unsuccessfully. Freud has taken the view that much of biography should be rewritten to include the part that sexual motives, which have been sublimated, play in personal ambitions. Evidently anger cannot be neglected by one who seeks for motives of personal growth whether biographer or educator.

A too soft pedagogy which would heal over too soon the injury to self-feelings, has its disadvantages. Encouragement at times by superficial means may cut off a good healthy angry reaction which may be needed. In fact a little lowered self-feeling with an irascible response is a good thing and it may be a signal for "hands off," or a little skillful and judicious suggestion. It is frequently observed by the subjects studied that anger at self intensifies a lagging willed action and breaks up interfering habits. A quotation from B. will illustrate. "I turned the anger inward and vituperated against myself for being such a lazy man. The emotion of the moment was relieved and I feel now like getting down to work at the stuff and getting it out of the way." Some subjects work at their very best when mildly angry. Attention and association processes are intensified to the point that real difficulties disappear. Anger in the exciting stage and at a situation too remote from the problem at hand, interferes with mental work. Bryan and Harter in their study of skill in telegraphy, found that the skillful operator may work best when angry, but the inexperienced worker is less efficient. Michael Angelo is said to have worked at his best in a state of irascible temper. The mass of mankind are sluggish and need a hearty resentment as a stimulant. If the circumstances are too soft and easy, the best which is in a man may be dormant; there is no tonic to a strong nature capable of bearing it like anger.

Many a good intellect has lacked the good powers of resentment necessary for the most efficient work. The boy who has not the capacity for anger should be deliberately taught it by some means. G?the, who was a rather keen observer of human nature, said, "With most of us the requisite intensity of passion is not forth-coming without an element of resentment, and common sense and careful observation will I believe confirm the opinion that few people who amount to anything are without a good capacity for hostile feelings upon which they draw freely when they need it."

Anger from the point of view stated above, touches upon the second educational aim. So large a part of the reactive consciousness to anger is motivated to find a successful surrogate for cruder and unsocial tendencies which are objectional, that this side of anger expression is educationally important. It is a desirable personal equipment to have strong potentialities of anger. However there should be a mentality which is versatile and active enough by training and habit to react successfully to the emotion, in the first place to use such reservoirs of energy for work, and second, to react satisfactorily from the feeling-side, where the instinctive tendencies are restrained, and break up morbid and unpleasant mental tension which may be an inference.

A good angry outburst at times may be a good thing, but most frequently some sort of surrogate is more satisfactory. Habits of witticism, refined joking, a little good-natured play and teasing within the limits of propriety serves a worthy end for mental hygiene, and often leaves a basis for good will and a friendship which would otherwise be in danger. The habit of suddenly breaking up an angry tension by a good thrust of wit or joke would be a good one to inculcate with the irascibly inclined. Many persons suffer in feelings and lack of good friendship because they have never learned to be good mental sparrers and to relieve their emotions by socially appropriate reaction rather than by a method of repression which is cheaper at the moment but more expensive in the end. Their anger is too absorbing and serious. It lacks the necessary flexibility, their emotions are too near the instinctive level and when the instinctive tendencies are restrained they lack mental habits of purging their feelings in a satisfactory way, consequently suppression is resorted to as a self-defense.

Anger, or, perhaps, better potentialities of anger in both teacher and pupils, is impulsively used in the role of teaching. Skill in using this emotion aright is part of the teacher's stock in trade. Pugnacity in the form of rivalry is a common device.

The description above will suffice to show the problem in individual differences in emotional life. With some subjects fear is the ruling passion. Subjects A. and B. have almost an even proportion of fear and anger during the period of observation. However these instances represent adult persons. How far the habitual emotional reactions are determined by training and instruction, is an important question. It is highly probable that the character of training in childhood and early adolescence plays a leading part. Subject C. above was an only child and took considerable license, almost getting beyond the control of his parents at an early age. J. reports that at early adolescence, anger was much more frequent and intense than at present. He believes that an early philosophical notion that intelligence should dominate the emotions, had an influence in establishing his present emotional habits. G. was early taught that it was sinful to get angry, an idea which he accepted at the time. His anger rarely refers to persons but vents on objects, principles and situations involved. He has relatively few emotions of anger. He believes that his early religious training was of importance in moulding the habitual reactions which he now assumes when angry. Such material as we have makes it entirely probable that a large part of the habitual mental reactions assumed in anger is the result of training. It may be said further that when instruction involves affairs of emotional life, individual difference become a still more pressing problem than when intelligence is the criterion.

Other inferences of the role of anger in the act of instruction are suggested from the present study. If the teacher himself does not possess the ability of well defined resentment against an infringement of fairness, advantage of this defect may be taken by the alert pupil unless there is compensation for it in another direction as by the principle of co-operation, by love or pride appealed to. Cooley however puts the matter a little too strongly when he says, "No teacher can maintain discipline unless his scholars feel that in some manner he will resent a breach of it." , Page 244.) The method of school control itself refers to some extent to the individual emotional life of the teacher, as well as pupil.

When anger enters into the role of discipline, of the three types already discussed, that which springs from the sentiment of justice is most efficient in instruction. Anger which arises from irritable feelings, from its nature becomes a dangerous emotion to be used in discipline. Emotion of this type develops by a cumulative process till the point of anger has been reached. It too readily ignores justice and is easily transferred from the real offender and may finally break out against an innocent party who may have unwittingly touched off the feelings which have been accumulated by previous stimuli, consequently anger of this type which is so frequently displayed in school rooms usually defeats the ends of discipline. Anger with a fore-period of lowered self-feeling because of the personal element entering into this type of anger and the tendency to ignore justice can evidently be resorted to but sparingly in school control unless it also involves the sense of justice.

Another point the teacher has to take into account is that from his position, if he is held in respect, the anger he excites in the student will usually be preceded by humiliation and, if he has been unfair, it will be intensified by the sense of offended fairness. Anger of this type is the one most frequently followed by an emotional disposition against the offender. It is the residuum of unsuccessfully expressed anger of this type which becomes a disturbing element in school control with the student who is irascibly inclined. The wise teacher who understands the individual emotional life of the pupil and the nature of the after-period of anger, will skillfully remove the morbid residuum and ally the resentful pupil on his side. Dislike following anger, is skillfully removed, will frequently increase the friendship of the offender more than before the offense. This principle of compensation in the after-period is thus to be utilized in discipline. It may be a good plan deliberately to bring a moody pupil to the point of anger and let him vent his wrath. Any punishment in discipline has the possibilities of being dangerous to school control, especially with the student of pugnacious disposition, if the justice of the punishment cannot be recognized by the offending pupil. Evidently a mistake in control is not to recognize the individual differences in emotional life and to attempt to use the discipline of fear with an irascible boy who knows no fear. Anger, disappearing unsuccessfully, may leave a morbid residuum which completely disqualifies the student for efficient learning, consequently when it exists, it is the business of the educator to remove the morbidity, transform it into work or to have the pupil transferred; for it may be as serious a hindrance to learning as adenoids or defective sense organs.

There is every reason to believe that a large part of the mental reactions to anger is individually acquired habits, consequently successful and satisfactory reactions are a matter of training. Potentialities of anger may actually be taught indirectly by building up the sentiments and mental disposition from which anger arises. Whatever will increase ideals and new desires, achievements in school which allow a better opinion of self and build up the sentiment of self-regard, of fairness and justice, are at work at the very root of anger consciousness. The study of the mental situation from which anger arises allows every reason to believe that when there is a lack of potentialities to anger, it may be built up in this indirect manner. The student who lacks good healthy resentment when the proper stimulus is at hand evidently is weak in the sentiment of self-regard, desire to achieve, or sense of fairness.

Whatever exercises will excite the pugnacious instinct, if done satisfactorily may involve a training in emotional habits. Habits of good fighting in work and play, the give and take in debate, class discussion, the witty retort, boxing, the team games if carried on aright, afford good exercise for the emotions. To acquire good habits of behavior when under fire, to fight clean and to the finishing point, to take defeat in a sportsman-like manner, are valuable acquisitions educationally whether they are acquired in athletics or the rivalry of intellectual work. On the other hand, athletics and mental contests may be carried on under conditions of emotional reaction, which defeat the aim of healthy emotional habits and consequently lack their better educational significance.

Footnote 1.

The Republic

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Ach: On study of will, 6.

Aristotle: On education of emotions, 1.

Attention: Change of in disappearance of anger, 58.

Attitude: Reaction to anger, 44-46, 58, 70.

Attributive Reaction: In expression of anger, 32.

Bain: On introspective view of anger, 12.

Behavior: Importance in study of emotions, 3, 7.

Bergson: Concerning anger and society, 83.

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