Angry people are more likely to overestimate their intelligence, study finds
By Eric W. Dolan August 5, 2018
https://www.psypost.org/2018/08/angr...dy-finds-51890
Angry people tend to think they’re smarter than they actually are, according to new psychology research in the journal
Intelligence.
“In a recent project I examined
the relationship between anger and various cognitive functions. I noticed from the literature review that
anger differs significantly from other negative emotions, such as sadness, anxiety or depression.
Anger is more approach oriented and associated with optimistic risk perception and generally optimistic bias,” said study author Marcin Zajenkowski of the University of Warsaw.
“I was wondering whether people with high trait anger would manifest a bias in perception of their abilities and competence. Specifically, I tested whether high anger leads to
positive intelligence illusion.”
In two studies, with 528 participants in total, the researchers found that people who confessed to
having a quick temper tended to also overestimate their intelligence...
...“Individuals with high trait anger have a tendency to overestimate their abilities, i.e.
thinking that they are smarter than they actually are. This part of anger is associated with
narcissistic illusions,” Zajenkowski told PsyPost.
Though
anger was associated with overestimating one’s intelligence, it was
unrelated to one’s actual level of intelligence.
“Our study examined only trait anger, that is dispositional tendency to experience anger. However, future studies may explore whether
temporary experience of state anger also leads to
biased perception of their abilities,” Zajenkowski said...