Social Psych - Frustration Aggression Hypothesis

Question 1

Social psychological expalanation

Answer 1

Any theory that argues aggression is the result of an interaction between an individual’s characteristics and features of the situations in which behaviour occurs.

Question 2

Frustration-aggression hypothesis

Answer 2

Dollard et al - ‘Frustration always leads to aggression, aggression is always as a result of frustration’.

Question 3

Catharsis

Answer 3

This hypothesis is based on the Psychodynamic theory of catharsis (the process of releasing and relieving strong or repressed emotion). If achieving a goal is blocked by an external factor we become frustrated. This creates an aggressive drive, which causes us to behave aggressively. Behaving aggressively is cathartic because it satisfies the aggression that frustration has created. It reduces the aggressive drive we are experiencing, making further aggression less likely.

Question 4

Displacement

Answer 4

Aggression may be displaced if:
- The cause of frustration is abstract (e.g. Brexit)
- The cause is too powerful and we risk punishment by being aggressive towards it (e.g. Police)
- The cause is not available at the time (e.g. friend that is on holiday)
So aggression is displaced onto an alternative that:
- is not abstract
- is weaker
- is available

Question 5

+ P - Can be used to explain sports violence

Answer 5

E - Priks used football teams’ position in the league as a measure of frustration and the number of objects thrown as a measure of aggression. The study showed that when a team performed worse than their fans expected, the supporters threw more objects onto the pitch and were also more likely to fight with opposition supporters.
E - This shows that when a football team plays badly it can cause an increase in violent behaviour from fans making the hypothesis more valid.
L - Specifically, supporters become more aggressive when expectations of good performance are frustrated, thus supporting the frustration-aggression hypothesis.

Question 6

• P - Not all frustration leads to aggression and that aggression can indeed occur without someone being frustrated.

Answer 6

E - Berkowitz argued that frustration is just one of many stimuli that cause negative feelings; others may be jealousy, pain and loneliness. Aggressive behaviour can be triggered by any of these. Furthermore, the outcome of frustration can be a range of responses (e.g. anxiety, determination, and helplessness) and may not always be aggression.
E - Therefore, one could argue that the frustration-aggression hypothesis is a reductionist and inadequate social psychological explanation of human behaviour.
L - Berkowitz’s negative affect theory can be argued to be a more holistic explanation of aggression, which takes into account the many varieties of unpleasant experiences that can lead to aggression.

Question 7

+ P - Research support

Answer 7

E - Newhall et al conducted a meta-analysis of 49 studies of displaced aggression. They concluded that displaced aggression is a reliable phenomenon as participants who were provoked but unable to retaliate directly against the source of the frustration were significantly more likely to show aggression towards an innocent party.
E - This is exactly the outcome that would have been predicted by the frustration-aggression hypothesis which states that aggression will be deflected or displaced onto an alternative if unable to be expressed to the source.
L - This therefore lends validity to the psychodynamic elements of the frustration-aggression hypothesis.