When the “threat system” is switched on: The impact of anger and shame on paranoia

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the nature of the anger response and explore the relationship between anger, shame, depression and paranoia beliefs. The sample consists of 208 individuals from the general population, with a mean age of 32.67 years. Results show that external shame and depressive symptoms have a significant and independent contribution to current feelings of anger (state-anger) and to the expression of anger towards people and objects (anger-out). The key finding in this study is that trait-anger temperament is the best global predictor of paranoid beliefs, followed by external shame and depressive symptoms. Overall, these results may provide new perspectives on the nature of anger, highlighting the interrelationship between threat-defensive emotions and their impact on paranoid beliefs.