About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

16 Va. J. Soc. Pol'y & L. 346 (2008-2009)
Anger is Not Anger is Not Anger: Different Motivations Behind Anger and Why They Matter for Family Law

handle is hein.journals/vajsplw16 and id is 354 raw text is: ANGER IS NOT ANGER IS NOT ANGER: DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONS BEHIND ANGER AND WHY THEY MATTER FOR FAMILY LAW Robert E. Emery CONTENTS I. A New Understanding of Emotion .................................................... 346 II. Rational and Em otional A nger ......................................................... 348 III. Em otional A nger and Pain .............................................................. 349 IV. Recognizing Pain Behind Emotional Anger ................................... 350 V. Demonstrable Benefits of Recognizing Pain Behind Anger ............ 351 VI. Other Emotions Behind Anger: Longing, Grief, and Fear ............. 352 VII. Some Implications of Emotional Anger for Family Law .............. 354 Mark Leary1 made many important arguments in his paper, Losing Perspective. However, I want to focus here on only one straightforward implication of his analysis: anger is not anger is not anger. From the perspective of the emerging scholarly discipline of law and emotion, this simple point could have profound implications for family law and family lawyers. What do I mean when I say, anger is not anger is not anger? Most simply, I mean that anger has different meanings in different contexts. This assertion may seem obvious, even gratuitous. I believe it is not. Sometimes anger is aggressive. Other times, anger is a reflection of deeper hurt, longing, grief, or fear. Distinguishing between the emotions behind anger can be critical for helping family law clients to act more rationally and less emotionally in relationships that almost always continue, in some form, long after a legal action is initiated or resolved. I. A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF EMOTION The idea that anger has different meaning in different contexts is not merely my assertion. This view is based on new models of emotion that rely on evolutionary principles and emerging neuroscience evidence. These new conceptualizations hold that emotions are not isolated psychological experiences or neurochemical reactions. Instead, the new view holds that emotions are a part of broader systems of motivation, behavior, and brain circuitry. These systems serve adaptive functions both in the immediate environment and over the course of evolution. An example and an analogy may help to clarify this general description of emotion. Traditional psychological theories of emotion, of which there are many, typically define emotions as internal, subjective Mark Leary, Losing Perspective: Ego, Emotion, and Overreactions to Undesired Events, 16 VA. J. SOC. POL'Y & L. 425 (2009).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most