A friend of yours who is in a bad mood calls you a jerk, which in turn evokes an emotional response of anger in you. In terms of the four basic components of emotion, the phrase uttered by your friend that served to trigger your anger would be considered an instrumental behaviour.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The phrase uttered by your friend that triggered your anger would be considered an antecedent event, not an instrumental behavior. Instrumental behaviors are actions taken in response to emotions, not the triggers of those emotions.

A Friend of Yours Who Is in a Bad Mood