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Working Paper SeriesIndigenous and Cultural Psychology

December2013 Issue:4 ISSN:23553685

CenterforIndigenousandCulturalPsychology|FacultyofPsychologyUniversitasGadjahMada

S�mulies of Anger among Indonesian AdolescentsAulia Kusuma Wardani

Indigenous and Cultural Psychology Working Paper Series

Issue 4, December 2013

Publisher: Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology, Faculty of Psychology Universitas Gadjah Mada; Editor-in-Chief: Faturochman ; Board of Editor: Wenty Marina Minza, Haidar Buldan Thontowi; Guest Editor: Yopina Galih Pertiwi; Proofreader: Adelia Khrisna Putri; Lay-out and Production: Banyu Wicaksono; Mailing Address: [email protected] / Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology Faculty of Psychology Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Humaniora 1 Bulaksumur Sleman, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

INDIGENOUS AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY WORKING PAPER SERIES

ISSUE 4 DECEMBER 2013

1

Stimulies of Anger among Indonesian Adolescents

Author

Aulia Kusuma Wardani

Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Abstract

In comparison to other emotions, anger is easier to be aroused. This especially applied to

adolescents. Therefore, it is important to understand the causes of anger among adolescents.

This study identified causes of anger among Senior High School Students. A total of 461

students (male = 188; female = 237) from Yogyakarta Province were asked to answer:

“overall, what makes you angry the most?”. The data were categorized, coded, and later cross

tabulated by gender and by rural/urban classifications. The result of this study indicated that

the overall causes of anger among male students were: social disruption (43,48%), self

assumption (19,88%), violation of trust (18,63%), and unpredicted bad moments (9,32%).

Meanwhile, the causes of anger among females were: violation of trust (33,74%), social

disruption (33,33%), unpredicted bad moments (15,23%), and self assumption (13,17%). The

causes of anger among urban adolescents were: social disruption (34,23%), violation of trust

(29,23%), and unpredicted bad moment (15%). In the other hand students who live in rural

area stated that their causes of anger were: social disruption (42,96%), violation of trust

(25,35%), and self assumption (19,01%). Social disruption is the main factor that stimulated

anger in adolescents.

Keywords : Anger, Adolescents, Gender, Urban/Rural

Aulia Kusuma Wardani

Center for Indigenous and Cultural Psychology

Faculty of Psychology

Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

[email protected]

WARDANI

2 INDIGENOUS AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

WORKING PAPER SERIES

Introduction

Anger exerted by adolescents is

closely related to their social relationship,

such as friendship (Saarni, 2008). Anger is

also related to how adolescents respond to

anger: some adolescents deal with anger

by internalizing it, and these adolescents

will have higher tendency to experience

depression in comparison to adolescents

who respond by expressing it (Cautin,

Overholser, & Goetz, 2001). Conditions of

suppressed anger can also affect high

reactivity when anger is triggered. Even

so, suppressed anger in women does not

affect the level of reactivity (Vogele,

Jarvis, & Cheeseman, 1997).

There are different ways of

interpreting certain emotions across

various societies. Interpretation of the

emotions associated with love is

interpreted differently between Americans

and Indonesians. The difference is

considered to be caused by factors of

tradition, as well as the fact that Indonesia

is a Muslim majority country (Shaver,

Murdaya, & Fraley, 2001) Yet, similar to

Americans (and perhaps other societies in

general), Indonesians interpret anger as a

negative emotion.

Anger has many roles in social

context: it can lead to social conflict in

interpesonal relationships due to conflicts

caused by a dependency between one

person and another (Van Kleef, Van Dijk,

& all, 2007). Interpersonal conflict is a

form of social aggression that can lead to

the existence of physical aggression in

adolescents (Xie, Swift, & all, 2002). It

can be said also that the various emotions

associated with anger that mostly occurs in

adolescence, are often associated with

criminality (Feindler, 1990).

In the development of the study of

anger, a variety of opinions have emerged.

There is an assumption that anger leads to

a positive affect (Novaco in Plutchik,

2003), yet some studies also suggested that

anger causes negative actions such as

abuse, dangerous behavior, desruction, and

homicide (Plutchik, 2003). Many debates

have surfaced regarding the theory of

emotion, but it can be traced back to a

theory that found anger as a variation of

the adaptive function (Lemerise & Dodge,

2008).

The universal view regarding anger

often takes the perspective of biological

processes, which seemed to have

influenced the many experimental studies

focusing on physiological indications.

Anger is also studied in terms of the

various effects it has on the way of

thinking, as well as rational and irrational

decision (Schroder & Carey, 2005). For

STIMULIES OF ANGER AMONG INDONESIAN ADOLESCENTS

INDIGENOUS AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY


3

instance, according to the theory of

expression, Matsumoto explained that

everyone expressed emotion in the same

way, regardless of whether others

understand the expressions or not

(Elfenbein & Ambady, 2003).

Anger can also be seen in social

context. Environment, especially family, is

believed to influence the formation of

emotions. Family has a large influence in

social development of emotion in

adolescent’s life: family support influences

the presence or absence of conflict in the

family, and family interest in the various

fields such as political, social and cultural

rights (Deepshikha & Bhanot, 2011)

The study of anger is an important

matter that needs deeper examination. We

cannot escape anger, whether it came from

other people or within ourselves. Knowing

the cause of anger would provide various

benefits, for example it would help arrange

coping strategy when anger arise

(Torested, 1989). As indicated above,

anger has been explored using biological

approaches. This study used a cultural

approach to anger (Kovecses, 2000),

which provides a more specific and

comprehensive understanding of anger

through the lens of psychology and

culture.

Anger and Gender

A stereotypical view on anger saw

it as an emotion that men express more

often (Brody & Hall, 2008). Expressions

of anger tend to show that males are more

aggressive, shown through physical

aggressiveness towards their peers rather

than toward women (Fives, Kong, Ryan, &

DiGlusepper, 2010). Rumination is one of

the factors that lead to an increasing level

of aggressiveness as anger emerges. This

triggers a person's self control to decrease

(Denson, Pedersen, Friese, Hahm, &

Roberts, 2011).

Gender is also found to influence

the process of self-regulation. For instance,

girls are better at regulating emotions in

comparison to boys (Cook, Chaplin, Sinha,

Thebes, & Mayes, 2012). Depression was

assumed to be caused by the (internalized)

anger, but no clinically significant

differences were found in men and women

in this situation (Newman, Fuqua, Gray, &

Simpson, 2006).

In studies of association between

anger and age, it was found that women –

both adult and children- showed low levels

of anger in comparison to adolescents.

Moreover, women at any age express

longer duration of anger than men (Kira S

Birditt, 2003).

WARDANI



Anger and Urban/Rural Origins

Many problems in the city are

caused by dense population, such as in

seedy places. The urban population also

has to deal with high living cost and

unhealthy sanitation (McGranahan, et.al,

2001). Adolescents in urban areas are

prone to distress, which may trigger anger.

The level of anger and aggressiveness in

adolescents living in urban areas are often

caused by poor economic conditions that

lead to depression and aggressive

adolescents (Puskar, et al, 2010).

Adolescents in rural area also have their

own set of problems that effect anger,

usually caused by stresses of geographic

isolation, lack of specialized services, and

poverty (Puskar, Dianxu, Bernardo, Haley,

& Stark, 2008).

Studies have also shown that

compared to young women, young men

living in rural areas tend to express higher

level of anger and concern for the future

(Hektner, 1995). A study conducted by

Deffenbacher (2008) regarding the driving

style in relation to anger at the village or

town, found that there was no difference

regarding anger in rural and urban

residents.

Methods

In carrying out this study, an

Indigenous Psychology approach was used

to understand behavior and modes of

thinking based on the context where the

study was taken (Kim & Berry, 1993).

Participants.

This study consisted of 461 high school

students from Yogyakarta, with 188 male

students, and 273 female students. Among

the participants, 294 grew up in the city,

164 in villages and 3 did not write their

place of origin.

Data collection.

The data was collected by asking "What

are the things that upset you (make you

angry) the most? This question is given as

part of an open-ended questionnaire that

was developed by Kim, where participants

were able to freely answer the questions.

Data analysis.

The analysis was done by classifying

responses based on keywords, which were

then categorized into themes. An open-

coding was then conducted to obtain sub

categories and more general categories.

The results of coding were then analyzed

using cross tabulation based on

participant’s background information. The




5

results of the analysis are general factors

that elicit anger based on gender and place

of origin. The place of origin in this case

refers to a place where the participant grew

up.

Results

Table 1. Causes of anger by gender

Category Male Female Total

(%)

(%) (%)

Social disruption (37,20) (29,70) (32,70)

Being disturbed (12,20) (9,20) (10,40)

Being hurt (16,00) (8,40) (11,50)

Not appreciated (9,00) (12,10) (10,80)

Violation of trust (16,00) (30,00) (24,30)

Violation of

trust

(16,00) (30,00) (24,30)

Self Assumption (17,10) (11,70) (13,90)

Poor

performance

(11,20) (5,50) (7,80)

Uncomfortable (5,90) (6,20) (6,10)

Unpredicted bad

moment

(8,00) (13,60) (11,30)

Unpredicted

bad moment

(8,00) (13,60) (11,30)

Other (21,80) (15,00) (17,80)

Other (7,40) (4,00) (5,40)

Blank (14,40) (11,00) (12,40)

Table 2. Causes of anger by origin

Category Urban Rural Total

(%) (%) (%)

Social disruption (37,20) (30,20) (32,80)

Being disturbed (7,90) (11,90) (10,50)

Being hurt (12,20) (11,20) (11,60)

Not appreciated (17,10) (7,10) (10,70)

Violation of trust (22,00) (25,90) (24,50)

Violation of

trust

(22,00) (25,90) (24,50)

Self Assumption (16,50) (12,60) (14,00)

Poor

performance

(10,40) (6,50) (7,90)

Uncomfortable (6,10) (6,10) (6,10)

Unpredicted bad

moment

(7,30) (13,30) (11,10)

Unpredicted

bad moment

(7,30) (13,30) (11,10)

Other (17,10) (18,10) (17,70)

Other (3,70) (6,50) (5,50)

Blank (13,40) (11,60) (12,20)

WARDANI

6 SERIES OF WORKING PAPERS

ON INDIGENOUS AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

Figure 1. Causes of anger by gender

Figure 2. Causes of anger by origin




7

3.1 Social disruption

The category of “social disruption”

is the main cause of anger among

adolescents, which include the following

sub-categories: being diturbed, being hurt,

and not appreciated. Most participants

gave answers that were included in this

category. Seventy (37.2%) of all male

participants, and 81 (29.7%) of all female

participants answered that social disruption

was the main cause of anger. A total of 61

respondents (37.2%) originated from urban

areas while 89 respondents (30.2%) from

rural areas. Adolescents from both urban

and rural areas stated that social disruption

is the main contributing factor to anger.

1.2 Violation of trust

The category “violation of trust” is

ranked second as the cause of anger in

adolescents (24.3%). Out of all male

participants, 16.0% gave answers included

in this category, while 30% of female

participants’ answers were included in this

category. An interesting issue is that, for

male participants, violation of trust only

came in third. But for female participants,

violation of trust came in first. Based on

place of origin, both adolescents from

urban areas (22%) and rural areas (25.9%)

ranked violation of trust as the second

contributing factor in anger. One of the

respondents when describing his anger

wrote: "(Being) deceived, he/she made a

promise, but it was not fulfilled".

1.3 Self Assumption

The self assumption category

consistsed of the following sub-

categories: poor performance and feeling

uncomfortable. This category is the third

most dominant response (13.9%). Out of

all maleparticipants, 17% described self-

assumptions the main cause of anger

(which comes in second place), while

11.7% of female participants gave

answers belonging to this category

(coming in fourth place). Based on place

of origin, this category ranks third among

urban participants (16.5%) and fourth

among participants from rural areas (with

37 respondents or 12.6% expressing

answers that fit this category). One

respondent explained that she became

angry when she is "confuse, upset, tired".

1.4 Unpredicted Bad Moment

The “unpredicted bad moment”

category is derived from matters that can

suddenly lead to anger and situations that

causes anger. This category was ranked

fourth with 52 respondents (11.3%). By

gender, the 15 respondents of male

adolescent (98.0%) and 37 female

WARDANI



adolescent respondents (13.6%) answer

was included in this category.

‘Unpredicted bad moment’ ranked fourth

and third as a cause of anger, for both

male adolescents and female adolescent

respectively. Based on place of origin,

this category was ranked fourth in

adolescents who grew up in urban areas

with a number of 12 respondents (7.3%)

and third in adolescents who grew up in

rural areas.

Discussion

Thus this study found that the four

causes of anger are (in sequence from the

highest ranked): social disruption,

violation of trust, self assumption and

unpredicted bad moment. Research

conducted by Eisenberg and Delaney

(1998) stated that there are various causes

of anger, including: frustrating situations,

conditions when one’s security is under

threat, and when the person's behavior do

not match his / her expectations. On the

other hand, if there is social support from

teachers or families, the level of anger or

frustration in adolescents will decrease

(Arslan, 2009).

Based on gender, there are

differences in the rate of the overall anger.

The rate of anger among adolescent males

is social disruption, with the highest

number of respondents (70; 37.2%), while

the main cause in female’s anger is

violation of trust, an answer stated by 82

female participants (30% ). Mainly

referring to social disruption, with the sub

category of: being disturbed by (other)

men (12.2%), being hurt (16%), and not

appreciated (9%), adolescent males’ high

response to social disruption as their main

cause of anger, can be attributed to the

emergence of the male stereotype where

men are considered more aggressive than

women in the social environment. As an

example, men are physically much more

expressive than women when it comes to

angertowards their peers (Fischer & Evers,

2010)

Significant differences between

adolescent males and females is in the

category of ”violation of trust”. In this

category 16% of adolescent males

responded to the violation of trust in

comparison with 30% adolescent females.

This is similar to Hutson-Comeaux’s

(1999) study that stated that women would

respond to emotions associated with

interpersonal relations, such as betrayal of

trust by others. Fischer & Evers (2010)

also states that women are more sensitive

when it comes to trust, commitment and

love.




9

Indonesia, like Japan and other East

Asian countries, is known to be a

collectivist society, and has a tendency to

regard maintaining social harmony,

connectedness, as well as compatibility

with the group as important (Markus &

Kitayama, 1991). As an example, in a

study conducted by Andajani (2007),

Javanese women interpret that depression

is associated with complex social, cultural,

and economic contexts. In the same study,

women are also found to be less in need

for support from the surrounding

environment. So the correlation between

anger-related causes of social context, such

as social disruption and violation of trust is

the dominant factor in comparison to other

factors, such as self assumption or

unpredicted bad moment.

Results from this study supported the

existing theories and findings. It has also

provided a new enriching perspective with

regard to the phenomenon of anger in a

social and cultural contexts, specifically

that in Indonesia. Stereotypes that arised

due to differences in culture, ethnicity or

race related to anger, has been minimized

through the results of this study which

found that there was basically no

significant difference related to anger by

place of origin. Even a study by Mabry

and Kiecolt (2005) discarded the notion of

black people as being more aggressive

than white people.

Conclusion

This study showed that the most

dominant, overall cause, of anger in

Indonesian adolescents is social

disruption. Meanwhile, it was also found

that there is a significant difference

between gender in the cause of anger,

where female adolescents’ stated that their

main cause of anger was violation of trust.

There were no significant differences in

the cause of anger among adolescents by

urban/rural contexts.

Acknowledgements

I express many thanks to all my

friends in the who have supported me in

writing this article. Special thanks for

Yopina Galih Pertiwi, as my mentor who

have guided me through the process of

creating this article and gave me insightful

advices. Next, I would also like to thank

Adelia Khrisna Putri as both my mentor

and friend, who have encouraged me

dearly throughout this research, as well as

gave me wonderful input on this research.

WARDANI



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Documents

stimulies of anger

overall causes of anger

conditions of suppressed

urban adolescents

social disruption

violation of trust

indonesia indigenous

social relationship