Frustration- Aggression Hypothesis Flashcards
What are social psychological explanations for aggression?
A theory that argues aggression is the result of an interaction between an individual’s characteristics and features of the situation in which behaviour occurs
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
sees aggression being the consequence of frustration
What is frustration?
Feelings which occur when we are prevented from achieving our goals
What is catharsis?
A form of emotional release by engaging in aggressive behaviour or aggressive thoughts about the target which caused their frustration
What is displaced aggression?
When aggression is displaced from the source of the frustration on to someone or something else.
What are the role of environmental cues?
Frustration crates a readiness for aggression, but it is the cues in the environment which makes us more likely to act upon it
What are two research studies related to the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
- Green (1968)- jigsaw puzzled electric shocks
- Berkowitz and LePage (1967) electric shocks in the presence or absence of guns
What was the procedure and findings of Greens (1968) study?
- Male university students had to complete a jigsaw puzzle but there level of frustration was manipulated in 3 ways.
- Group 1: Puzzle was impossible to solve. Group 2: ptpts ran out of time because the confederate kept interrupting, Group 3: pets were insulted by the confederate as the failed to solve the puzzle
- The ptpts then had to issue electric shocks to the confederates when they made a mistake on another task
- Green found that Group 3 gave the strongest shocks on average, then 2, then 1. all gave stronger shocks than the non-frustrated control group
What was the procedures and findings of Berkowitz and Lepage’s (1967) study?
-Emphasised the role of environmental cues in triggering aggression caused by frustration
- They suggested that frustration creates a readiness for aggression, but we only act upon it if triggered by environmental cues
- Ptpts received electric shocks from a confederate in a lab situation creating anger and frustration
- The ptpts then had the chance to give electric shocks to the confederate electric shocks in one of two conditions:
1. two guns present on the table next to the shock machine
2. no guns present
- In condition 1 pops gave an average number of shocks of 6.07, in condition number 2 they gave an average number of 4.67
What are the 2 strengths of the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
Research support- Marcus-Newhall et al. (2000) conducted a meta-analysis of 49 studies of displaced aggression, which investigated situations in which aggressive had to be directed against a target other than the one that caused the frustration. Found that ptpts who were provoked but unable to retaliate directly against the source of their frustration were significantly more likely to aggress against an innocent party, the people who were not provoked.
Real-world application- The frustration-aggression hypothesis has been used as an explanation for mass killings. Staub (1996) found that mass killings are often rooted in the frustration caused by social and economic difficulties within a society. this then leads to scapegoating (finding someone to blame) in the form of displaced aggression. For example, following WWI many germans blamed the jewish community for the loss of the war and severe economic problems that followed, leading to violence and murders of jews.
What are the two limitations of the frustration aggression hypothesis?
Aggression ≠ cathartic- The idea of catharsis suggests that aggression reduces arousal so that people are less likely to be aggressive… yet this has not been supported by research.
Bushman (2002) found that participants who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punching bag actually became more aggressive than less. Ironically, doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression than venting anger.
A more complex link between frustration and aggression- It has been found that frustration does not always lead to aggression and that aggression can occur without frustration.
Reifman et al. (1991) investigated behaviour in US baseball games and found that as temperatures increased, so did the likelihood that pitchers would display aggressive behaviour towards the batters.
This therefore suggests that the frustration-aggression hypothesis is inadequate as it only explains how aggression arises in some situations but not in others.
Counter-argument: Berkowitz (1989) reformulated the initial hypothesis to take this criticism into account led to the negative affect theory – frustration is just one of many stimuli that create negative feelings which lead to aggression (others include jealously, pain, loneliness). So aggressive behaviour is triggered by negative feelings generally rather than by frustration specifically. In addition, frustration can be a range of responses, only one of which is aggression (e.g., the frustration someone experiences at getting a poor grade for an essay might not always lead to aggression, but to despair, anxiety etc.)
Therefore, frustration (negative feelings) can form part of a wider explanation of what causes aggression.
