Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis

What is the Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis?

• This theory is based on the psychodynamic explanation of Catharsis.

• Freud believed the drive for aggression was innate, like the drive for food. He believed the only way to reduce aggression was to do an activity which released it

• We feel better because we have ‘got it off our chest’

What is the hypothesis based on?

• The hypothesis is based on the psychodynamic concept of catharsis- aggression is a biological ‘drive’ from the id which arises when we are prevented from achieving a goal/desire and which must be satisfied

• It is also believed that contextual factors play a role in inhibiting aggressive behaviour in some situations, such as the threat of a punishment

When does frustration increase?

• Our motivation to achieve a goal is very strong

• We except gratification

• There is nothing we can do about it

What did Brown et al survey in 2001?

He surveyed British holidaymakers who were prevented from travelling by ferry to France because French fishing boats blocked the French port of Calais. There was an increase in a hostile attitude toward the French because of passenger’s frustration

Why does the frustration aggression model say that aggression comes from frustration?

1. Dollard et al (1939) proposed the frustration-aggression hypothesis, a social psychological explanation for aggression.

2. They argued that aggression is always a result of frustration (defined as interference with attempts to reach a goal) and that frustration always leads to aggression (this could be aggressive behaviour, or just feeling aggressive).

3. The strength of this aggression is determined by the degree of frustration, which depends on how much you want to reach the goal, how close you are to achieving it, and how much you've been set back by the interference.

4. Fear of punishment may inhibit aggressive behaviour towards the source of the frustration. If this aggression is weaker than the fear it will be displaced onto something (or someone) other than the cause of the frustration.

What are the strengths of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

1. Buss (1963) found that frustration can increase the occurrence of aggression

   — students in groups who had been frustrated (e.g. by being prevented from winning money) were slightly more aggressive than the control group.

2. Harris (1974) studied people's responses when a confederate pushed in front of them in a queue. People displayed more aggression when they were close to the front of the queue than when they were near the back.

3. This supports the suggestion that being frustrated causes more aggression the closer to your goal you are.

What are the weaknesses of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?

1. Berkowitz (1965) argued that frustration alone isn't enough to trigger aggression - environmental cues to release aggression are also needed. There's more about this below.

2. The suggestion that frustration always leads to some form of aggression is widely disputed. Evidence for this claim is contradictory. For example, Buss (1966) found no link between frustration and aggression (contradicting his earlier work).

3. It could be that frustration only leads to aggression if the frustrating behaviour is seen as an attack. Mallick and McCandless (1966) found that participants responded much less aggressively to being frustrated by a confederate if they were given a reasonable explanation for the frustrator's behaviour.

Why may environmental triggers be necessary for aggressive behaviour?

1. Berkowitz (1965) proposed a revision of the frustration-aggression hypothesis, known as the aggressive cues hypothesis.

2. He argued that frustration doesn't usually directly produce aggression, instead it creates a 'readiness to aggress'.

   • For aggressive behaviour to occur it must be triggered by the presence of environmental cues.

   • Berkowitz and LePage (1967) gave participants electric shocks to make them feel angry. Afterwards, levels of aggression were tested with either a weapon, badminton racket or no objects present. They found that people behaved more aggressively when the aggressive cue of the weapon was present than in the other two conditions.

What did Dollard et al find out in 1939?

• His hypothesis sees aggression as being the consequence of frustration, defined as 'any event or stimulus that prevents an individual from attaining some goal and its accompanying reinforcing quality'.

• The social psychological explanation put forward by Dollard and Miller (1939)

• Although it is based on the Psychodynamic view that aggression is an innate process

• Explains aggression as a reaction to environmental stimuli.

• E.g. frustration with work or school.

• The original frustration-aggression hypothesis states if our goals are blocked by an external stimulus then we become frustrated which always leads to aggression.

• Frustration always causes aggression and aggression is always the result of frustration.

What is an AO3 analysis of the hypothesis?

Berkowitz (1969) proposed a revised frustration-aggression hypothesis, where he argued that frustration doesn't always lead to aggression. He stated that aggression would only occur in the presence of certain cues. For example, cues such as the presence of weapons will be more likely to trigger aggression.

What did Bushman find out in 2002?

• 700 university students

• Write an essay on a controversial topic

• Read a (fake) controversial essay by a partner and give comments

• Read (fake) mean comments from partner

• 30 mins (1 = punchbag, 2 = no activity)

• Crude computer game task

• DV = duration and severity of white noise

• 2x more for group 1

• More for men than women

What is an AO3 analysis of Berkowitz in 1969?

• Frustration creates a readiness for aggression - dependent on the presence of cues in the environment.

• Only through the presence of cues is the resulting behaviour aggression.

What is a variation of the hypothesis?

• Pastore (1952) distinguished between justified and unjustified frustration.

  • Unjustified - e.g. bus driving past without stopping

  • Justified - e.g bus driving past with "out of service" sign displayed

• The 'justified' group showed much lower levels of anger

What is an evaluation of the catharsis theory?

• Catharsis theory predicts that venting anger should get rid of it and should therefore reduce subsequent aggression. The present findings, as well as previous findings, directly contradict the catharsis theory (e.g., Bushman et al., 1999; Geen & Quanty, 1977).

• For reducing anger and aggression, the worst possible advice to give people is to tell them to imagine their provocateur's face on a pillow or punching bag as they wallop it, yet this is precisely what many pop psychologists advise people to do. If followed, such advice will only make people angrier and more aggressive.

What did the hypothesis find in relation to the psychodynamic theory?

• Psychodynamic theory proposes we have ego defence mechanisms to protect ourselves. Two defence mechanisms that are used in the catharsis of aggression are:

  • Sublimation - using our aggression in acceptable activities

  • Displacement - Directing our aggression outwards onto someone or something else

What is sublimation?

• Sublimation works by channelling negative and unacceptable impulses into behaviours that are socially acceptable.

• Freud considered sublimation a sign of maturity that allows people to behave in civilised and acceptable ways.

• Freud's idea of sublimation originated while he was reading the story of a man who tortured animals as a child and later went on to become a surgeon.

• Freud believed that the same energy that once drove the child's sadism was eventually sublimated into positive and socially acceptable actions that benefited others.

What is displacement?

• Displacement is a psychological defense mechanism in which a person redirects a negative emotion such as anger from its original source to a less threatening recipient.

• A classic example of the defence is displaced aggression.

• If a person is angry but cannot direct their anger toward the source without consequences, they might take out their anger on a person or thing that poses less of a risk.

• In order to experience catharsis, a scapegoat needs to be found to release aggression.

  • I.e. kicking the dog.

What did Russel Green find out in 1968?

• Male university students were given the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle.

• Their level of frustration was experimentally manipulated in one of three ways.

  • the jigsaw was impossible to solve.

  • they ran out of time because another student (confederate) in the room kept interfering.

  • the confederate took to insult the participants as they failed to solve the puzzle.

• The next part of the study involved the participant giving electric shocks to the confederate when they made a mistake on another task.

• Findings - The insulted participants gave the strongest shocks on average followed by the interfered group, then the impossible task participants.

• All three groups selected more intense shocks than a (non-frustrated) control group.

Why is there a lack of support of Cathersis?

It is not supported by research, in fact, most indicate the opposite - aggressive behaviour seems to keep aggressive feelings and thoughts active in memory.

What is a real world evaluation?

• Mass killings: Staub (1996)

• Social and economic frustrations lead to personal frustrations - this can then lead to scapegoating and genocide

• Sports violence: Priks (2010)

• Swedish football fans

• When a team performed worse than expected, the fans had more fights and threw more things onto the pitch

What is the evaluation of nature vs nurture?

• The Frustration-aggression hypothesis only looks at the role of nurture and how environmental stimuli cause an aggressive response.

• However, you can contrast this with any of the knowledge gained on the biological explanations we have looked at to date.

• For example: One alternative cause of aggression may be genetic factors such as the MAOA gene.

• This predisposes an individual to impulsive and aggressive behaviour without the need for an obstacle to a goal. Therefore using frustration as a sole explanation for aggression is reductionist