STAXI – 2 (State – Trait Anger Expression Inventory)

Purpose of the test: To measure the experience, expression and control of anger by using

STAXI-2.

Introduction

Definition of Anger

“Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel

has deliberately done you wrong” -APA

“Anger is an emotional response that we have to external or internal event perceived as a

threat, a violation or an injustice. It has been widely theorized that anger is an adaptive

response and is a version of the fight or flight response, which in turn is believed to have

evolutionary usefulness in protecting us from danger” -UHS Berkeley

“Anger is an emotional-physiological-cognitive internal state; it is separate from the

behaviour it might prompt” -Clay Tucker-Lass, 2004

“Anger is an emotional state of feeling that varies in intensity, from mild irritation to fury

and rage” -University of Sao Paulo “Anger refers to a psycho-biological emotional state or

condition that consists of feelings that vary in intensity from mild irritation or annoyance

to intense fury and rage accompanied by activation of neuroendocrine processes and

arousal of autonomic nervous system” -Charles Spielberger State and Trait Anger

Definition

“State anger is defi

tension and by arousal of the neuroendocrine and autonomic nervous systems” -Charles

Spielberger

“Trait Anger is defined in terms of individual differences in disposition to perceive a wide

range of situations as annoying or frustrating and by the tendency to respond to such

situations with elevation in state anger” -Charles Spielberger

Theories

1. Allport’s Theory: Allport organized 18,000 personality-describing words from English

Language dictionaries into a hierarch of 3 levels:

 Cardinal Traits Dominate and shape an individual’s behaviour e.g., Scrooge’s greed or

Mother Theresa’s altruism. Cardinal traits are powerful but few people have personalities

dominated by a single trait. Instead, our personalities are typically composed of multiple

traits.

 Central Traits These are general characteristics found in varying degrees in every

person (such as loyalty, kindness, grouchiness etc). They are basic building blocks that

shape most of our behaviour.

 Secondary Traits They are plentiful but are only present under specific circumstances;

they include things like preferences and attitudes. These traits explain why a person may at

times exhibit behaviours that seem incongruent with their usual behaviours. E.g., a

friendly person gets angry when people try to tickle them.

and personality as genotypes and phenotypes. Genotypes are internal forces that relate to

have a person retains information and uses it to interact with the world. Phenotype are

external forces that relate to the way an individual accepts his or her surroundings and how

others influence their behaviour.

2. Eysenck’s Theory

Hans Eysenck focused on temperament; innate genetically based personality differences.

He believed personality is largely governed by biology. His model has 3 dimensions:

 Extroversion vs Introversion

People high on the trait of extroversion are sociable and outgoing and readily connect

with others, whereas people high on the trait of introversion have a higher need to be

alone, engage in solitary behaviours and limit their interactions with others.

 Neuroticism vs Stability

People high on neuroticism tend to be anxious; they tend to have an overactive

sympathetic nervous system and even with low stress, their bodies and emotional state

tend to go into fighter-flight reaction. In contrast, people high on stability tend to need

more stimulation to activate their fight-or-flight reaction and therefore considered more

emotionally stable

 Psychoticism vs Socialization

People who are high on psychoticism tend to be independent thinkers, cold, non-

conformist, impulsive, antisocial and hostile. People who are high on socialization tend to

have high impulse control; they are more altruistic, empathetic, cooperative and

conventional
3. Five factor Mode

The five-factor model organizes all personality traits along a continuum of 5 factors:

openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism (OCEAN)

 Openness

This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People who are high in

this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests and tend to be more adventurous and

creative. People low on this trait are often much more traditional and may struggle with

abstract thinking

.  Conscientiousness

Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, good-impulse

control, and goal-directed behaviours. Highly conscientious people tend to be organized

and mindful of details. They plan ahead, think about how their behaviour affects others,

and are mindful of deadlines.

 Extraversion

Characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of

emotional expressiveness. People high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain

energy in social situations. People high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain

energy in social situations. People low in extraversion tend to be more reserved and have

less energy to expend in social settings

 Agreeableness
 Includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection and other prosocial

behaviours. People high on this trait tend to be more cooperative while those low in this

trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative.

 Neuroticism

Characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals high on this

trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this

trait ted to be more stable and emotionally resilient.

4. Spielberger’s theory

Spielberger’s state-trait theory of anger postulates that the state of feeling angry is a

universal transitory condition consisting of subjective feelings of anger that vary in

intensity and duration and produces physiological reactivity that increases along with the

intensity of subjective anger feelings. Trait anger is postulated to be an enduring

personality type that predisposes an individual to more frequent anger episodes than

individuals who are not high in trait anger. Spielberger et al also posit that individuals with

high trait anger tend to experience the same environmental anger triggers with a more

intense, enduring and aroused state anger than individuals low in trait anger.

Types of Anger Expression and Control Anger Expression and anger control are

conceptualized as having 4 major components:

 Anger Expression-Out: Involves the expression of anger towards other persons or

objects in the environment

 Anger Expression-In: Is anger directed inward (i.e., holding in or suppressing angry

feelings)
  Anger Control-Out: Is based on the control of angry feelings by preventing the

expression of anger toward other persons or objects in the environment

 Anger Control-In: Is related to the control of suppressed angry feelings by calming

down or cooling off when angered.

METHODOLOGY:

Description of the test:

The state-trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAX 1: Speilberger 1988) has been revised

and expanded from 44 to 57 items on the basis of extensive research over the past 10

years. This new version STAXI-2 provides concise measure f experience, expression and

control of anger. The STAXI-2 was developed for two primary reasons:

a) To assess components of anger for detailed evaluation of normal and abnormal

personality,

b) To provide a means of measuring the contribution of various components of anger to

the development of medical conditions, particularly, hypertension coronary heart disease

and cancer.

Scales and subscales: The revised 57 items STAXI-2 consists of six scales, five sub scales

and an anger expression index, which provides overall measure of the expression and

control of anger:-

i. State Anger (S. Ang)

 Feeling Anger (S.Ang/f)

 Feeling like Expression Anger verbally (S.Ang/v)

ii. Trait Anger (T.Ang)

 Anger Temperament (T.Ang/T)

 Anger Reaction (T.Ang/R)

iii. Anger Expression-Out (AX-O)

iv. Anger Expression-In (AX-I)

v. Anger Control- Out (AC-O)

vi. Anger Control-In (AC-I)

Reliability

Internal consistency coefficients for the scale have ranged from 0.86 to 0.95;testretest

reliability coefficients have ranged from 0.65 to 0.75 over a 2-month interval (Spielberger et

al, 1983). Test-Retest coefficients for this measure in the latest study ranged from 0.69 to

0.89 (Spielberger et al, 1989).

Validity

Considerable evidence attests to the construct and concurrent validity of the scale

(Spielberger et al, 1989).

Refer to Table B1: STAXI-2 Normalized T scores for Normal Adults (Combined sample of

females and males) Ages 16 years and older Refer to Table A1: STAXI-2 Percentiles for

Normal Adults (Combined sample of females and males) Ages 16 years and older Refer to

Table 7: Guidelines for interpreting high scores.

Scoring

The STAXI-2 yields scores for 6 scales, 5 subscales, and the Anger Expression Index. The

items comprising each scale and subscale are as follows:

 State Anger Scale – Items 1-15 comprise S-Ang scale and sub-scales. The items comprising

each S-Ang subscale are as follows:

o Feeling Angry (S-Ang/F) – Items 1,2,3,6 and 10

o Feeling like Expressing Anger Verbally (S-Ang/V) – Items 4,9,12,13 and 15

o Feeling like Expressing Anger Physically (S-Ang/P): Items 5,7,8,11 and 14

 Trait Anger Scale – Items 16 to 25 comprise the T-Angscle and subscales. The items

comprising each T-Ang subscale are as follows:

o Angry Temperament (T-Ang/T) – Items 16, 17, 18 and 21

o Angry Reaction (T-Ang/R) – Items 19,20, 23 and 25

 Anger Expression and Anger Control Scales – Each of the four Anger Expression (AX-O,

AX-I) and Anger Control (AC-O, AC-I) scales consists of 8 items (i.e., Items 26to 57). The

items that comprise each scale are as follows:

o Anger Expression-In (AX-I) – Items 29,33,37,41,45,49,53, and 57

o Anger Control-Out (AC-O) – Items 26, 30,34,38, 42,46,50 and 54

o Anger Control-In (AC-I) – Items 28,32,36,40,44,48,52 and 56

 Anger Expression Index – The AX Index provides a measure of total anger expression

based on scores on the AX-O, AX-I, AC-O, and AC-I scales. This index is computed using

the following formula:

AX Index = AX-O + AX-I – (AC-O + AC-I) +48

 The constant, 48, is included in the formula to eliminate negative numbers. Possible scores

on the AX Index range from 0 to 96.

The examinee’s self-ratings of the items are automatically recorded on the scoring page of

Form HS. Sum the items to find the raw scores based on which scales each item belong to.

This will lead to finding scores for each scale, their sub-scales and Anger Index. Percentile

ranks and T scores corresponding to STAXI-2 scales and subscale scores can be found using

the normative tables in Appendixes A and B, respectively. Locate the appropriate normative

table based on age and gender.

Uses, Advantages and Limitations

The test can be used to measure anger in school students who frequently have anger issues or

in clinical and counselling settings to measure anger level of a client.

The main advantage of the test is that it is easy to addminister and has a norm even for people

with clinical disorders which is not easily found in many tests.

Demographic Details:

Name: S. M

Age: 22 years

Gender: Male

Marital status: Single

Educational background: Graduate

Occupation: student

Ordinal position: 1st child

Family Structure: Nuclear

Family Tree:

Father’s occupation: IT engineer

Mother’s occupation: Homemaker

Mother’s educational background: 10th graduate

Geographical location: Urban

Socio-economic status: Middle-Class

Case History

The participant was a 22 years old male; he had completed her BA through Mumbai

University. he belonged to a middle class, nuclear family, and was currently residing in

Mumbai.

The participant’s mother was a homemaker; she had done her graduation in 10th . His father

was a IT Engineer after completing his B. Tech . Participant did not have any major health

problems. According to him, he was fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.

The participant said that he does not gets angry very frequently but sometimes easily snaps

because some minute things does not go as he wanted to. He restricts from verbally abuse

someone but frequently feel like he says many things to say but do not say as it might affect

the relationship with that person Participant sometimes might raise their voice in a heated

argument . Participant refrains from any physical expression of anger as well.

He is frequently irritated and annoyed by little things and hates when people purposely do

things that they know would annoy him and snaps over them easily. His friends and family

describe him as being short tempered sometimes as he gets easily irritated. When he gets
angry the participant tries to be quiet and doesn’t talk very much and tries to cool down over

time. He sometimes listens to music to cool down or distract himself from the current

situation. The participant has observed that ever since the pandemic he gets frequently

irritated or annoyed with only minor provocations.

Materials required:

 STAXI booklet

 STAXI sheet

 Consent form

 Demographic details form

 Norms table

 Stationary items

Observation

The participant seemed interested while conducting the test. The participant required some

help in understanding some of the statements but was able to follow all instructions properly

and completed the test without much delay.

Retrospective report

The test was very easy and simple and want to know the results as quicky as possible.
Scoring and interpretation:

Sub-Scale Raw Score Percentile T-Score

S-Ang 18 70 48

S-Ang/F 8 65 52

S-Ang/V 5 50 42

S-Ang/P 5 50 42

T-Ang 22 70 56

T-Ang/T 10 90 62

T-Ang/R 12 90 60

AX-O 19 85 60

AX-I 21 85 60

AC-O 15 3 32

AC-I 15 3 36

AX-Index 88 >99 >80

Interpretation

The purpose of the test was to measure the experience, expression and control of anger by

using STAXI- 2. The participant is 21 years old male who is single and lives in a nuclear

family

For the S-Ang scale the participant has a raw score of 18, a percentile score of 70% and a T

score of 48. The S-Ang is known as State Anger and measures the intensity of angry feelings

and the extent to which a person feels like expressing anger at a particular time. These scores
indicate that over all he has a moderate amount of anger as the participant is irritated most

oof the times.

On the S-Ang/F the participant had a raw score of 8, t-scores 52, and ranked on the 65th

percentile. The S-Ang/F is known as Feeling Angry and measure the intensity of the angry

feelings the person is currently experiencing. The participant is currently experience very

moderate amount of anger and is in a normal state of mind.

On the S-Ang/V the participant had a raw score of 5, t-scores 42 and ranked on the 50th

percentile. The S-Ang/V Scale is known as Feel like Expressing Anger Verbally and

measures the intensity of current feelings related to the verbal expression of anger. The score

indicate that the participant generally does not show verbal expressions of anger, as

mentioned in the case history the participant refrains from verbal expression of anger.

On the S-Ang/P the participant had a raw score of 5, t-scores of 42 and ranked on the 50th

percentile. The S-Ang/P Scale is known as Feel like Expressing Anger Physically and

measures the intensity of current feelings related to the physical expression of anger. The low

scores indicate that participant rarely or does not use any physical expression of violence as

the participant mentions in case history.

On the T-Ang the participant had a raw score of 22, t-scores 56 and ranked on the 70th

percentile. The T-Ang Scale is known as Trait Anger and measures how often angry feelings

are experienced over time. The scores on the test indicate that the participant experiences

moderate amount of anger over a longer duration of time.

On the T-Ang/T the participant had a raw score of 10, t-scores 62 and ranked on the 90th

percentile. The T-Ang/T Scale is known as Anger Temperament and measures the disposition

to experience anger without specific provocation. The scores indicate that the participant has

a high disposition to experience anger. High scorers on this scale easily get angry ,even in the
face of minor provocations the participant mentions that he gets frequently irritated and

annoyed by little thing. The participant has observed that ever since the pandemic he gets

frequently irritated or annoyed with only minor provocations.

On the T-Ang/R the participant had a raw score of 12, t-score of 60 and ranked on the 90th

percentile. The T-Ang/R Scale is known as Anger Reaction and measures the frequency that

angry feelings are experienced in situations that involve frustration and/or negative

evaluations. The participants get easily angry and hates when people purposely do things that

they know would annoy him and snaps over them easily.

On the AX-O Scale the participant had a raw score of 19, t-score of 60 and ranked on the

85th percentile. The AX-O Scale is known as Anger Expression Out and measures how often

angry feelings are expressed in verbally or physically aggressive behavior. High score

indicate that participant may sometime show verbal aggression and as mentioned that

sometimes might raise their voice in a heated argument.

On the AX-I Scale the participant had a raw score of 21, t-score of 60 and ranked on the 85th

percentile. The AX-I Scale is known as Anger Expression In and measures how often angry

feelings are experienced but not expressed (suppressed). Scores suggest that participant

refrains from expressing their anger and frequently feel like he says many things to say but do

not say as it might affect the relationship with that person.

On the AC-O Scale the participant had a raw score of 15, t-score of 32 and ranked on the 3rd

percentile. The AC-O scale is known as Anger Control Out and it measure how often a

person controls the outward expression of angry feelings. The scores indicate that the

participant has a hard time controlling anger and frequently expresses his anger and

frustration, his friends and family describe him as being short tempered sometimes as he gets

easily irritated.
On the AC-I Scale the participant had a raw score of 15, t-score of 36 and ranked on the 3rd

percentile. The AC-I scale is known as Anger Control In and it measures how often a person

attempts to control angry feelings by calming down or cooling off. When he gets angry the

participant tries to be quiet and doesn’t talk very much and tries to cool down over time.

On the AX index the participant had a raw score of 88, t-score of 80 and ranked on the 99th

percentile. The AX index is known as the Anger Expression index and it provides a general

index of anger expression. This indicate that the participant is highly expressive of his anger

and frequently gets annoyed or irritated. , his friends and family describe him as being short

tempered sometimes as he gets easily irritated.

Conclusion

The purpose of this test was to measure the experience, expression and control of anger by

using STAXI-2. The test was conducted on 21 years old male who is single and lives in a

nuclear family. The scores indicate that the participant had moderate scores on state anger

and high scores on trait anger and expressiveness of anger and low on anger control . This

means that the participant might have a disposition to be angry and that some situations can

get him easily riled up and is hard to calm down quickly. The scores on the test are in line

with the case history.

References
Wilkowsky B. M., Robinson M. D. (2010). The anatomy of anger an integrative cognitive

model of trait anger and reactive aggression. J. Personal. 78 9–38. 10.1111/j.1467-

6494.2009.00607.

Alexandra I., Dragos I.et.al (2012). The Role of Trait Anger in the Relationship between

Stressors and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Convergent Findings from Multiple

Studies and Methodologies. Applied Psychology. 61. no-no. 10.1111/j.1464-

0597.2011.00476.

Abdu, R., Shinar, D., & Merian, A. (2012). Situational anger and driving.Transportation

Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour,15, 575–580.

Dahlen, E. R., & Martin, R. C. (2005). The experience, expression, and control of anger in

perceived social support. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(2), 391–401.

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.01.019.

Stewart, J. L., Levin-Silton, R., Sass, S. M., Heller, W., & Miller, G. A. (2008). Anger style,

psychopathology, and regional brain activity. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 8(5), 701–713.

Bahrami, E., Mazaheri, M. A., & Hasanzadeh, A. (2016). Effect of anger management

education on mental health and aggression of prisoner women. Journal of education and

health promotion, 5, 5.