frustration-aggression hypothesis

who states that frustration always leads to aggression

dollard

what is the frustration aggression hypothesis based on

the psychodynamic concept of catharsis

what happens when attempts to achieve a goal are blocked by external factors

a person experience frustration

what does build up of frustration lead to

an aggressive drive

what does the aggressive drive lead to overtime

the demonstration of aggressive behaviours such as violence

what happens once aggression is demonstrated

this immediately reduces the drive created by frustration

what happens when the drive created by frustration is reduced

this makes future aggression less likely

how is the release of built up frustration described

cathartic

what are the 3 reasons aggression isn't always directly expressed to the source

- the cause of frustration is too abstract and not physically present (e.g. government)
- the cause is too powerful and there's risk of punishment (e.g. teacher)
- the cause is unavailable or too far (e.g. sibling that isn't home)

what happens when aggression can't be directed towards the source

it is displaced onto an alternate (not source) that isn't abstract or is weaker leading to aggression

who asked male participants to compete a jigsaw whilst their level of frustration was manipulated

geeri

evidence for frustration causing aggression

- strength
- GEERI asked male participants to complete a jigsaw while their level of frustration was manipulated
- for one group the puzzle was impossible to solve, another group was disrupted by another student (confederate) so they ran out of time and the last group was insulted through the task by a confederate as they failed to solve the puzzle
- participants were then given the chance to administer shocks to a confederate on another take
- all three frustrated groups gave more intense shocks than a non frustrated group
- this shows that build up of frustration due to not meeting goals leads to build up of an aggressive drive and actual aggression caused on to others ,as shown by the aggressive shocks
- this increases the validity of the theory

who had a study where student participants received electric shocks from a confederate then had the chance to give shocks back

berkowitz

role of environmental cues is unaccounted for

- weakness
- in BERKOWITZ's study, student participants revived electric shocks from a confederate then had the opportunity to give shocks back
- in one condition two guns were present next to the shock machine
- in this condition the average number of shocks were higher (6.07) compared to the condition where no gun was present (4.67 shocks)
- this shows that while frustration creates a readiness for aggression if aggressive cues are present in the environment in addition to this the cues exert a mediating effect and amplify aggression levels shown
- since the mediating impact of aggressive cues in the environment hasn't been accounted for, this shows that FAH can be considered incomplete

who found that participants who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punch bag became more aggressive

bushman

showing aggression may not be cathartic

- weakness
- BUSHMAN found that participants who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punch bag actually became more angry and aggressive rather than less
- in fact, doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression
- this shows that frustration-aggression hypothesis is inaccurate for suggesting aggression can let off steam and have a cathartic effect to reduce the aggressive drive
- since evidence shows that showing aggression has an opposite effect, this reduces the validity

who gave participants an origami task where the instruction was going too fast

dill and anderson

type of frustration is unaccounted for

- weakness
- in DILL + ANDERSON's research participants were shown an origami task with the instructor going too fast causing frustration
- in the unjustified frustration condition the instructor said this was because his girlfriend was waiting for him and in the justified frustration condition he said it was because his boss asked him to finish quick
- the unjustified frustration condition produced much more aggression (measured through negative judgements of the instructor) compared to the justified condition
- this shows that all frustration doesn't automatically lead to an aggressive drive and that reasons for frustration after how much aggression it will lead to
- since the impact of different frustration types hasn't been accounted for by the theory it can be considered incomplete