The red light in anger : a lived experience of Maltese University students

Abstract

The study aims to address the lived experience of anger. Research in this field is very minimal, especially in the local context. An in-depth understanding of anger was possible through existing literature. Five psychology students were interviewed and their experience was captured through an interpretative phenomenological approach. Some similarities were found in their experiences and these were later analysed and interpreted to provide a better understanding of what feeling angry entails. Findings proved that feeling angry is like a continuum of emotions that starts with feeling frustrated to helpless, let down or hurt, and ultimately leaving one sad or guilty about particular issues. It was found that past experiences, especially childhood experience are major influences on the participant's perceptions of anger.