Why do people act different when mad

A question I been wondering

Because everyone’s different.

/thread

Because their emotions are at an all time high, they are frustrated, and often not able to think rationally enough to give themselves a time out and go calm down.

ahum. because biochemical physiology influences the thought generation or selection or processing procedures. as well as emphasises signals send to the muscles.

Ha. OMD, I’ll see you one and raise you twenty.

uhm…call?

Basically, because when they are mad, ‘fight or flight’ kicks in, and adrenaline starts pumping through their system. Anger is essentially the ‘fight’ response. As a direct result of this, the brain’s priorities shift, and the hindbrain is given greater prominence.

Originally posted by Twilight_Ninja:

and often not able to think rationally enough to give themselves a time out and go calm down.

The lack of rational thinking is directly related to this. With the hindbrain coming to the fore, the stress systems kick in. More advanced brain functions such as abstract thought take a back seat – this is why it is much harder to think straight when you are angry. Your ability to think is literally being deprioritised.

In addition the immune system is shutting down, heart rate is up, oxygen intake is up, and your body is preparing for a fight. The parasympathetic nervous system, the one that is in control when you are calm and collected, essentially shuts down, and the sympathetic nervous system revs up to full capacity. There is a heck of a lot going on in the body at that time, and the brain is focussing most of it’s energy on regulating that.

It’s an old, old response network, a leftover from when becoming angry, meant we were about to enter a physical fight situation. In such situations, higher thought processes were detrimental to survival – distractions – so, they were reduced to a bare minimum level, whilst allowing the brain to continue processing sensory input.

This is also why an angry person is very quick to lash out – their body has literally become primed for it.

The same reason they find it difficult to think rationally when aroused, i presume

Originally posted by denamo:

The same reason they find it difficult to think rationally when aroused, i presume

Not quite, arousal is a different mechanism, but you have the gist of it. Again, the conscious part of your mind, the ‘self’ as it were, is deprioritised in the brain, whilst metabolic changes occur in preparation for the event.

Intense emotions are form of stress, and stress always acts rather drastically on the brain. The older, more instinctual processes take precedence, and the newer, more abstract processes recede.

Damn, vika beat me to it. lol
If by “act differently” ya mean “strongly different behavior”,,,,
then it certainly can be attributed those damn hormonal “kick-ins”.

When a (some)body encounters, either directly or via information, information or physical behavior that is of a nature that “threatens” their basics tenets on/of/in life—they react to the treat by the body preparing to (as vika well points out) either fight or flight through the production of some very basic survival chemistry.

The source//stressor doesn’t necessarily have to be human or even a “live” threat to the individual. It can be situational. A person can demonstrate huge physical strenght upon encountering a situation that “threatens” what could be seen as “fairness in life”. Reports of such strength comes from a burning car pinning down a loved one,,or even a strength,,and the individual lifting hundreds of pounds in order to free that person. The “change in behavior” is usually attributed to an adrenal “rush”…in this case, a “fight” against a personally unacceptable situation.

Mental “control” of hormones is very difficult.
Women are much better “equipped” to do this…at least via a basic decision to “flight”.
Men “fight”. They are stronger and much more capable to protect the female & her children. One man can impregnate many women. Only one woman is strong assurance the species won’t survive.

As vika points out, w/o this survival “instinct”, we wouldn’t have made it to today. AND, even though we don’t need it to the extent it was “back then”….we still need “road-rage”, cowboy bar fights, England rowdies at football games, boxing & MMA matches (modern gladiators?), etc. for our vicarious entertainment. Ever notice how such “sporting events” are (mostly) the domain of the male?

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^you suck at being inquisitive.

Usually Republicans get more aggressive when mad vs. the other political parties. It has been proven that people with lower IQ tend to lean Republican.

Originally posted by QuabbinHiker:

Usually Republicans get more aggressive when mad vs. the other political parties. It has been proven that people with lower IQ tend to lean Republican.

I don’t know if such is a “fact”,,,
or, that it has been “proven”,,,
BUT, it SOMETIMES sure seems that way….LOL
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For issendorf: Some Democrats COULD likewise “lean” that way,,,
BUT, usually they just give it a “glance”,,,
through rose-colored glasses….LOL

Emotions are in a high place, their mind is filled with anger and they need to release it somehow.

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Anger is a fight or flight response to being threatened. With so few physical dangers, our animal nature gets pent up, so when something threatens our security, our routines, our relationships, our reputations, we tend to lash out like it’s a life or death situation.

But in today’s modern culture it usually isn’t a life or death situation. So we’ve got to be careful not to act out too instinctively in such situations and be reasonable instead.

I personally have been learning the hard way that if someone pushes your buttons, you are still responsible for the way you behave.

Becuase that part of your brain that Asks everything “Is this a threat”? Go insane when It Is triggerd.