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The Impact of Anger Suppression on Stress

Filotei, Anastasia (2026) The Impact of Anger Suppression on Stress. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Taking action against injustice can have negative repercussions, especially when the social costs of speaking up are high. However, suppressing the anger elicited by the injustice, and not protest against it, could also influence psychological well being. The present study (N= 353) investigated the effects of anger suppression and situational costs on intentions to protest and stress. A 2 (anger suppression vs control) x 2 (high costs vs low cost) experimental design was used to examine those relationship. Contrary to our expectations, suppressing anger and situational costs did not influence protest intentions and the experience of stress. However, an exploratory analysis revealed that individuals who were highly empathetic towards victims of femicide reported high levels of stress after suppressing their anger in high cost situations, while individuals who reported low empathy towards the victims, experienced low levels of stress in this case. These findings, suggest that the effects of emotional suppression may not be as straightforward as previous research suggested and may depend on situational costs and individual differences. In particular, target specific empathy seemed to be relevant in explaining whether suppression increases stress or alleviates it, in socially costly situations. However, it is important to note that these results are explorative and further research should be conducted on the topic before conclusions can be drawn. Keywords: suppression, anger, stress, protest intentions, situational costs

Item Type: Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name: Gordijn, E.H.
Degree programme: Psychology
Differentiation route: None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited: 24 Feb 2026 07:10
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2026 07:10
URI: http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/6262

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