Reciprocal effects between dominance and anger: A systematic review

•There is a positive association between human dominance behavior and anger.•Social status and dominance have a direct effect on the perception of anger.•Anger expression has causal effects on the perception of dominance.•Dominance and anger have a mutual causal relationship possibly with positive feedback.

Dominance and high status are directly associated with perception of angry expressions. However, studies that have sought to empirically assess the causal mechanisms between these construct are still relatively scarce. Moreover, several variables can influence and be influenced by both anger and dominance, increasing the complexity of synthesizing the findings related to the association between these agonistic behaviors. We conducted a systematic review in five electronic databases. A total of 207 potentially relevant publications were identified and screened. Of those, 20 articles were found eligible for detailed review, with 26 empirical studies. All reviewed studies reported an association between dominance and anger. Social status and dominance have a direct effect on the perception of anger. In turn, the perception of anger has a consistent effect on attributions of dominance for those who express this emotion. There are mutual effects between dominance and anger, which, if recurring and positively feedback-regulated, at least in perceptual terms, can lead to the establishment and maintenance of dominance hierarchies in social groups.