Anger and Hostility, Assessment of

Anger and hostility are multifaceted constructs comprised of affective and cognitive components. Despite periodically being used interchangeably due to the overlap in affective and cognitive components, anger and hostility differ in the emphasis given to each component. Anger is typically conceptualized as an emotion (i.e. affect) whereas hostility is generally considered as an attitude (i.e. cognition) often resulting from anger. In this entry we define anger and hostility and present tools used to assess these constructs.