Speaking One's Mind or Biting One's Tongue: When Do Angered Persons Express or Withhold Feedback in Transactions with Male and Female Peers?

Mead and Cooley's social self hypothesis implies that everyday encounters involve regular feedback between interactants. People often refrain from conveying feedback, however. This study examines when angered individuals express feedback and when they withhold it. Undergraduate respondents reported on occasions when they felt negatively toward peers. The closer the relationship, the more important the issue, the stronger the individuals' feelings, and the more positive their expectations, the more likely they were to express feedback. Feedback also was more likely in mixed-gender relationships.