Angry men are strong and forceful, while angry women are often dismissed as overly emotional. That double standardhas been alleged for years now, with plenty of anecdotal evidence to back it up.
A newly published study featuring a mock jury not only supports that assertion: It takes it a step further, suggesting women's anger may actually be counterproductive. It finds that, while men who express anger are more likely to influence their peers, the opposite is true for women.
"Our results lend scientific support to a frequent claim voiced by women, sometimes dismissed as paranoia," conclude psychologists Jessica Salerno of Arizona State University and Liana Peter-Hagene of the University of Illinois–Chicago. They suggest the belief "that people would have listened to her impassioned argument, had she been a man" is, in many cases, valid.
[For more of this story, written by Tom Jacobs, go to http://www.psmag.com/politics-...-to-influence-others]
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