Frustration-Aggression Model Flashcards
What is frustration?
Frustration is the feeling you experience when trying to achieve something; working towards a goal and there are barriers (real or imaginary) that prevent you from realising your aim.
Frustration is an unpleasant feeling, how can we relieve this?
By being aggressive.
E.g. engaging in a violent fantasy, verbal outburst or physical violence.
Who put forward the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
Dollard et al, (1939)
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis based on?
Based on the psychodynamic explanation of catharsis.
What did Freud believe about the drive for aggression?
It was innate, like the drive for food, drink or sex.
How did Freud believe you get rid of frustration?
To engage in an activity which releases it.
We then feel better because we have released the build-up of tension and ‘got it off of our chest’.
Aggression is a cathartic release of the build-up of what?
Frustration.
State and explain two defence mechanisms that are used in the catharsis.
Sublimation:
Using aggression in acceptable activities such as sport.
Displacement:
Directing our aggression outwards onto something or someone else.
State and explain two factors affecting the likelihood of aggression occurring.
Proximity to the goal:
If the individual is close to achieving the goal then the likelihood of aggression is much greater.
Whether aggression will remove the barrier that is causing frustration:
E.g. a piece of machinery breaking vs the engineering coming to fix it.
Outline Harris’ research from 1974.
Supports the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
This is because they investigated whether proximity to the goal had an effect on the level of aggressive behaviour shown; she used situations where queues occurred, such as shops and her confederates pushed in front of people.
It was found that if they were closers to the front of the queue they were more likely to react in an aggressive way than if they were towards the back of the queue.
This suggests that proximity to achieving goals (higher frustration) is an important factor in whether aggression occurs.
Outline Buss’ research from 1963.
Supports the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
This is because when they got PPs to complete 3 frustration tasks: failing to win some money, failing on a task, or failing to get the grade you want.
He found all three types of frustration prompted aggression and all three types prompted higher levels of aggression than a group that acted as a control with no frustration.
This suggests that frustration is a trigger for aggression to be released.
Outline Geen’s research from 1968.
Supports the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
This is because male university students were given the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle, with level of frustration was experimentally manipulated by one of 3 ways: an impossible puzzle, they ran out of time because a confederate kept interfering, or the confederate insulted the PPs as they failed to solve the puzzle.
PPs who were insulted gave the strongest shocks on average, followed by the interfered group, then the impossible task Ps; all 3 groups selected more intense shocks than a (non-frustrated) control group.
This suggests that the more frustrated someone is, the more likely they are to behave aggressively.
Outline Bushman’s research from 2002.
(Evaluation: AO3: Is aggression really cathartic?)
Challenges the FAH.
This is because they found that PPs who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punch bag become more angry and aggressive rather than less. Doing nothing was actually more effective at reducing aggression than venting. Bushman argued that using aggression to reduce frustration is like using petrol to put out a fire.
This suggests that taking out frustration only increases and exacerbates aggression.
Outline Pastore’s research from 1952.
(Evaluation: AO3: Not all types of frustration prompt aggression)
Tested the theory using scenarios where the aggression was brought about by justified frustration (e.g. bus not stopping to pick up passengers).
He found that levels of aggression expressed in the justified frustration setting were lower than in unjustified settings.
This suggests the source of frustration is key to whether it leads to aggression or not.
How would sport prompt aggression?
(Evaluation: AO3: Aggression is not always prompted by frustration)
Aggression in sport is not always prompted by frustration.
