Hostile: An Emotion Or A Reaction?

Hostility is often associated with anger, but it can also be accompanied by feelings of skepticism, hurt, and mistrust. It can be a result of deep-seated anger issues, PTSD, mental and physical trauma, or substance abuse. It is a spectrum of explosiveness, ranging from cold aloofness to blatant shouting. It is a full-body feeling of ill will and readiness to fight.

Hostility is often described as a behaviour that is the direct result of anger that goes unchecked. It is one of the most widely studied behavioural characteristics in stress research, along with anger. While anger is an attempt to control the actions of others, hostility is an emotion that involves a higher possibility for inflicting physical harm.

Anger is typically associated with negative outcomes such as aggression, but it can also lead to positive outcomes such as making amends and reparations. Similarly, hostility can lead to aggressive self-assertion and the violent exclusion of supposed others.

Hostile emotions can be further classified into antipathy, envy, ressentiment, disgust, hatred, and contempt.

Hostility and anger

Hostility is often characterised as being stubborn, hot-headed, and angry. It is associated with feelings of anger, but also with scepticism, hurt, and mistrust. This cynicism may be because you believe that other people have selfish motivations and that they will hurt you to get what they want. Hostility can be caused by deep-seated anger issues, PTSD, mental and physical trauma, or substance abuse.

Anger is an emotion that nearly everyone feels at some point in their lives. It is not wrong to feel angry, but it is a negative emotion that tends to lower a person's mood. Anger is typically an attempt to control the actions or behaviours of others to get our needs and wants met. It is the result of frustration when you do not get what you need, want, or expect from life or others. Underlying anger is fear. The most common fear is not feeling in control of a person or event.

Anger as a Hostile Emotion

Anger has been characterised as a hostile emotion, at least in part, because it is traditionally characterised as a retributive emotion. The orthodox view of anger takes desires for retribution to be definitional of anger. However, there is a view that anger is essentially recognitional, that is, that it aims for recognition of harms done, rather than for the punishment of those who have committed them.

Anger and Hostility in Action

Anger can be expressed either directly through "lashing out" or indirectly through "passive-aggressive" behaviour. With passive-aggressive behaviour, individuals punish others by being belligerent, not responding, pouting, or simply running away. Active anger is obvious: you simply lose control and "explode" onto someone with a verbal or physical attack. Hostility or aggression is often the direct result of anger that goes unchecked.

Coping with Anger and Hostility

• Recognise the fear driving your anger.
• Improve your self-esteem.
• Practice "letting go".
• Use "I-messages" to communicate with others when angry, upset, or hurt.
• Set realistic goals.

Hostility and close relationships

Hostility is often associated with feelings of anger, but it can also be accompanied by emotions like hurt, skepticism, and mistrust. It can manifest as coldness and aloofness or as outright aggression. Close relationships, whether romantic or platonic, are a source of intense emotions and can sometimes be the cause of hostile feelings.

Anger and Close Relationships

Anger is often associated with aggression and negative outcomes. However, research suggests that anger can also lead to positive outcomes in close relationships, such as making amends and reparations. In the context of romantic relationships and friendships, anger has been found to be associated with reparative action, indicating a desire to discuss and resolve issues.

Disgust and Close Relationships

Disgust, on the other hand, has been found to be a stronger predictor of behavioural tendencies in close relationships than contempt. It is linked to avoidance and aggression in both romantic relationships and friendships, and can hinder the likelihood of wanting to repair the relationship.

Contempt and Close Relationships

Contempt is related to social exclusion and divorce, but its role in close relationships requires further exploration.

Conflict and Close Relationships

Conflict in close relationships can have both positive and negative consequences. While it can be stressful and provoke negative emotions, it can also foster rumination, leading to improved problem-solving skills and cognitive development. The impact of conflict depends on its frequency, management, and the quality of the relationship. Constructive conflicts, characterised by supportive dialogue, can lead to positive outcomes, while coercive conflicts, marked by hostile assertions and coercive behaviour, tend to have detrimental effects.

Managing Hostile Emotions

It is important to recognise that feelings of hostility are normal and can be managed through various techniques. Writing down emotions, reaching out to a support system, practising deep breathing, and finding positive distractions are some ways to cope with hostile emotions. Seeking professional help can also provide individuals with better tools to manage their emotions.

Hostile emotions and their influence on politics and the media

Hostile emotions are a group of aversive other-directed emotions that create or reinforce boundaries between in-groups and out-groups. They include emotions such as antipathy, envy, ressentiment, disgust, hatred, and contempt. These emotions can lead to aggressive self-assertion and the violent exclusion of those considered "others".

The Influence of Hostile Emotions on Politics and the Media

The influence of hostile emotions on politics and the media is a complex and multifaceted issue that has been studied by scholars in various fields, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, political science, and history.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding the role of emotions in public debate, ideological attitudes, and the relationships between politics, the media, and claims to truth. This concept, often referred to as "postfacticity", highlights how emotional dispositions can take precedence over verifiable facts in political discourse.

One way that hostile emotions manifest in politics and the media is through the "hostile media effect" or "hostile media perception". This phenomenon refers to the tendency for individuals with strong pre-existing attitudes on an issue to perceive media coverage as biased against their side and in favor of their antagonists' point of view. For example, during the 2016 US presidential election, following politicians on social media was associated with anger towards the opposing candidate and enthusiasm for the supported candidate, contributing to hostile media perceptions.

The hostile media effect can be influenced by several factors, including selective recall, selective perception, and different standards or motivated reasoning. Selective recall refers to the tendency of individuals to remember more of the disconfirming portions of a message than the parts that support their position. Selective perception is when individuals perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints. Different standards or motivated reasoning lead people to develop elaborate rationalizations to justify holding beliefs that logic and evidence have shown to be wrong.

The influence of hostile emotions on politics and the media can also be seen in the expression of anger and rage across various media outlets. These emotions can lead to collective temperaments and individual articulations of discomfort, contributing to a polarized political climate. Additionally, hostile emotions can influence political engagement and exposure to news from diverse viewpoints. For example, individuals with stronger beliefs are more likely to exhibit biased information processing, either out of protection of personal values or a strong sense of group affiliation.

In conclusion, hostile emotions play a significant role in shaping political discourse and media coverage. They contribute to the perception of bias, influence emotional dispositions, and impact political engagement. Understanding the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of these emotions is crucial for navigating the complex landscape of politics and media in modern society.

Hostile emotions and their impact on health

Hostility is often associated with anger, but it is also accompanied by feelings of skepticism, hurt, and mistrust. This cynicism might be because an individual believes that other people have selfish motivations and that they will hurt them to get what they want. Hostility can be caused by deep-seated anger issues, PTSD, mental and physical trauma, or substance abuse.

How Hostility Shows Up Mentally

Hostile emotions can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Individuals might experience angry outbursts, irrational thoughts or behaviour, and difficulty communicating their feelings calmly with other people. If controlling anger becomes difficult and starts to affect daily life, it is recommended to seek help from a mental health professional.

How Hostility Shows Up Physically

Hostile emotions can lead to physical health issues such as an elevated heart rate, high blood pressure, muscle tension, chest pain, headaches, and hot flashes.

Impact on Close Relationships

Hostile emotions can lead to avoidance and aggression in close relationships. Anger, in particular, can predict reparative action and aggression in these relationships. While anger is typically associated with negative outcomes, it can also lead to positive outcomes, such as making amends and reparations.

Health Conditions Associated with Hostile Emotions

Poorly managed or repressed hostile emotions can have negative consequences for health. Research has linked these emotions to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, and infection. Additionally, chronic stress caused by negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can upset the body's hormone balance, deplete brain chemicals required for happiness, and damage the immune system, ultimately reducing lifespan.

Coping with Hostile Emotions

• Identify and express your emotions: Recognize and accept your feelings without judgment. Express them in a safe and healthy way, starting by sharing them with yourself or someone you trust.
• Reach out for support: Share your emotions with a close friend, family member, or a therapist.
• Practice deep breathing: Calm your nervous system by focusing on slow, deep breaths.
• Distract yourself with positive activities: Engage in activities that bring you joy, such as watching your favourite show, knitting, listening to a podcast, or cooking.
• Practice forgiveness: Accept negative events and work towards letting go of negative feelings. Forgiveness has been linked to improved mental, emotional, and physical health, including better immune function and cardiovascular health.

Managing hostile emotions

Hostility is often associated with anger, but it is also accompanied by feelings of skepticism, hurt, and mistrust. This cynicism might be because you believe that other people have selfish motivations, and that they will work to hurt you in order to get what they want. Hostility can also be caused by deep-seated anger issues, PTSD, mental and physical trauma, or substance abuse.

Recognise the Fear Driving Your Anger

Anger is an attempt to control the actions or behaviours of others to get our needs and wants met. The most common fear is not feeling in control of a person or event. Recognise that your need to control may be unrealistic and actually counter-productive. Once you have identified the fear behind your anger, allow yourself to feel it. Doing so will allow the fear to flow through and out of you.

Improve Your Self-Esteem

A positive and healthy self-esteem is vital to resisting the use of anger. Self-esteem improves when you look to the good within you and not to the bad, flawed, or inadequate.

Practice "Letting Go"

Our culture focuses on maintaining control rather than teaching us the art of "letting go". By "letting go", you will actually gain control over yourself! When you become aware of excessive anger within you, you can begin to talk to yourself in a different way. For example, you might say to yourself: "I can let go and it's okay. Letting go does not mean I'm out of control."

Use "I-Messages"

"I-Messages" are powerful ways to communicate with others when angry, upset, or hurt. I-Messages can defuse a potentially explosive situation and are a good alternative to verbally abusing another person. I-Messages focus on behaviour, not the person as a human being.

Set Realistic Goals

When you do not reach your goals, you can become frustrated and angry. Set realistic goals, both in reducing excessive anger and in all other areas of your life. Then act on them; promises and hopes rarely change human behaviour.

Frequently asked questions