The anger superiority effect refers to our brain’s tendency to notice angry faces faster than happy or neutral ones. It’s likely an evolutionary trait to help us spot threats quickly. Christine Hansen & Randolph Hansen’s 1988 study research-paper showed people consistently identified angry faces faster in crowds—because anger “pops out” more.
Christine Hansen, with Randolph Hansen (1988), proposed that this is an evolved survival mechanism: angry expressions signal potential danger, so our brains are wired to notice them first.
In their classic experiment, participants were shown arrays of faces (6 or 9 per grid) with emotional expressions—happy, neutral, or angry. They were asked to quickly spot the “odd” face.
Participants consistently spotted angry faces faster than happy or neutral ones. Angry expressions seemed to “pop out”, highlighting how our attention is naturally drawn to signs of threat.
Picture walking into a meeting room. Nine people look happy or neutral but one person is glaring. Even without thinking about it, your attention locks onto that angry face. You might feel a bit on edge before you even realize why. That’s the anger superiority effect in action. Your brain instinctively flags potential conflict before you consciously process it.
Social media platforms amplify anger through algorithms that prioritize emotionally charged content, particularly outrage. This mechanism mirrors the anger superiority effect, where anger captures attention more effectively than other emotions. Posts expressing moral outrage often receive more likes, shares, and comments, reinforcing the cycle of anger.