Understanding Anger & Causes Flashcards

Which neurotransmitter imbalance is MOST frequently associated with irritability and low frustration tolerance in anger research?

Answer: Low serotonin

Low serotonin is consistently linked to reduced impulse control, heightened irritability, and increased susceptibility to anger triggers.

A CART therapist observes that a client becomes angry primarily when he believes others have acted unfairly. This trigger category is BEST labeled:

Answer: Injustice perceptions

Anger arising from perceived rule violations and unfair treatment falls under injustice perception triggers, a core category in anger typology.

Which statement about gender and anger is MOST supported by current research?

Answer: Men and women experience anger at similar frequencies but express it differently due to socialization

Research indicates similar anger frequencies across genders, but cultural norms and socialization shape how each gender expresses or suppresses anger.

A client describes feeling angry but unable to identify what upset her. In CART assessment, this state is BEST described as:

Answer: Alexithymia-related anger

Alexithymia — difficulty identifying and labeling emotions — can cause anger to feel sourceless because the person cannot access its emotional origin.

Which early childhood experience is MOST predictive of reactive anger patterns in adulthood, according to attachment research?

Answer: Disorganized attachment with a frightening caregiver

Disorganized attachment, where the caregiver is simultaneously a source of fear and comfort, produces the most dysregulated emotional responses, including reactive anger.

The term 'anger thermostat' in CART education refers to:

Answer: An individual's baseline sensitivity level that determines how quickly anger escalates

The anger thermostat metaphor describes each person's unique set-point for emotional reactivity — how quickly and intensely they heat up in response to triggers.

Epigenetic research on anger suggests that:

Answer: Environmental experiences can modify gene expression related to stress reactivity without altering DNA sequence

Epigenetics shows that early trauma and chronic stress can chemically tag genes to increase stress reactivity, but these changes are potentially reversible through therapeutic intervention.