frustration-aggression hypothesis Flashcards
what is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
a social psychological theory that archie’s that anger, hostility and even violence are always the outcome when we are prevented from achieving our goals (ie frustration)
who introduced the frustration- aggression hypothesis?
Dollard
what is the frustration- aggression hypothesis?
it had two main claims-
•frustration always causes aggression
•aggression always results from frustration
aggression is a form of catharsis
aggression created by the frustration is satisfied
what are the three reasons why aggression is not always expressed directly against the source of frustration?
•the chase of our frustration may be abstract (eg the economic situation)
•the cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment by aggressing against it (eg to a teacher)
•the cause may just be unavailable at the time (eg your teacher left the room)
so some of our aggression is displaced on something that is available
flow diagram for the frustration- aggression hypothesis
prevented from reaching a goal -> frustration -> aggressive drive aroused -> aggressive thoughts or actions -> aggressive drive relieved (catharsis)
who studied the weapon effect?
Berkowitz
how did Berkowitz demonstrate the weapon effect?
•did a lab study
•participants were given real electric shocks to create anger and frustration
•the participants later had the opportunity to give fake shocks to the confederates
•the number of shocks were greater when there were two guns on a table compared to other conditions where there were no guns
•this weapon effect supports Berkowitz’s contention that the presence of aggressive environmental cues stimulates aggression
What was Geen’s research?
He got university students to either complete puzzles with different conditions (an impossible one, an interfering confederate and a confederate who insulted them as they did it)
•the students were then given an option to give the confederate electric shocks
•the insulting condition gave the strongest shocks. all three conditions have more than the non-frustrated control group.
strength: research support
•Newhall did a meta-analysis of 49 studies of misplaced aggression
•concluded that displaces aggression is a reliable phenomenon
•frustrated participants who were provoked but unable to retaliate directly against the source of their frustration were significantly more likely to aggress against an innocent part than people who were not provoked
•this shows that frustration can lead to aggression against a weaker or more available target
limitation: the role of catharsis
•research shows that aggression may not be cathartic
•Bushman found that participants who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punchbag actually became more aggressive rather than less
•doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression than venting.
•this shows that a central assumption of the frustration-aggression hypothesis may not be valid
limitation: frustration- aggression link
•frustration does not always lead to aggression, and that aggression can occur without frustration
•there isn’t an ‘automatic’ link between the two
•people do different things when they are frustrated and people become aggressive for different reasons
•this suggests that the frustration-aggression hypothesis is inadequate because it only explains how aggression arises in some situations but not in others
counterpoint to the frustration- aggression link limitation
•Berkowitz reformulated the original hypothesis
•his negative affect theory argues that frustration is just one of many adverse stimuli that create negative feelings
•the outcome of frustration can also be a range of responses
•therefore frustration (negative feelings) can form part of a wider explanation of what causes aggression
limitation: role of environmental cues
•even if we are angry, we may still not be aggressive
•Berkowitz believes frustration merely creates a readiness for aggression
•but the presence of aggressive cues in the environment make acting upon it more likely
•Berkowitz and LePage demonstrated this through their gun control study
