frustration-aggression hypothesis

what is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

aggression is the consequence of frustration

what is frustration?

any event or stimulus that prevents an individual from attaining some goal & its accompanying reinforcing quality

who came up with the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Dollard et al

what can inhibit aggressive behaviour?

contextual factors

what does the frustration-aggression hypothesis predict a cause-effect relationship between?

• frustration

• aggression

• catharsis

what is catharsis?

a form of emotional release that is achieved by the person engaging in aggressive behaviour or having aggressive thoughts about the target

who surveyed British holidaymakers prevented from travelling by ferry to France by French boats?

Brown et al

what did Brown et al find?

an increase in hostile attitudes towards the French

who asked pps to imagine how they would feel in frustrating situations?

Doobs & Sears

who distinguished between justified & unjustified frustration?

Pastore

which type of frustration causes aggression?

unjustified

what is an example of unjustified frustration?

a bus passing by with no sign to indicate it is full or out of service

what might happen if it is impossible to act aggressively towards the source of frustration?

it is displaced

who revised the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

Berkowitz

what was Berkowitz’s problem with the original hypothesis?

frustration is neither necessary nor sufficient for aggression

what does the revised model argue?

frustration is one of the many different types of unpleasant experiences that can lead to aggression & unpleasant experiences create negative affect in the individual

according to the revised model, what is more likely to provoke an aggressive reaction?

an unanticipated interference

what are the weaknesses of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

• aggression is not an automatic consequence of frustration - SLT theorists argue it is one possible response - social learning determines how anger manifests - suggests individual differences

• lack of research support - catharsis not supported - Bushman found behaving aggressively is likely to lead to more aggression in the future - contradicts claim of catharsis

• not all aggression arises from frustration - one of many aversive events leading to it - e.g., pain/temperatures - Reifman found that as temps increased, US baseball pitchers were more aggressive towards batters - 90mph balls - supports REVISED hypothesis

what are the strengths of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

• real world application - mass killings - Staub suggests they are rooted int he frustration caused by social and economic difficulties - leads to scapegoating - e.g., Germans condoning violence towards Jews in WWII - propaganda

• real world application - sports violence - Priks found Swedish football fans became more aggressive when their team performed worse - used position in league as a measure of frustration & number of objects thrown as a measure of aggression - 1 position drop in the league led to 5% increase in unruly behaviour