Trait irritability in adults is unrelated to face emotion identification

Irritability (i.e., a proneness to anger that is often accompanied by behavioral outbursts) is increasingly recognized as a clinically significant trait in adults, yet studies into its mechanisms and whether they differ from those observed in pediatric samples is largely unknown. Although face emotion identification deficits are associated with increased irritability in children, mixed findings exist in the two studies of trait irritability in adults. In an online sample of adults (N = 209, 18–62 years; M = 30.15), we sought to address some of the methodological limitations in prior studies to test whether irritability is associated with difficulties recognizing emotional expressions following frustration. Trait irritability was not associated with impaired face emotion identification, even after a frustration manipulation. This suggests that irritability-related mechanisms in adults may differ from those observed in pediatric samples or may be limited to adults with clinically significant irritability.