Social-psychological explanation: FRUSTRATION AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS Flashcards
Who suggested the frustration aggression hypothesis?
Dollard
What is the frustration aggression hypothesis?
- If our attempt at achieving goal directed behaviour is blocked by an external factor, frustration occurs.
- The frustration creates an aggressive drive which leads to aggressive behaviour.
- Aggressive behaviour can be cathartic because the aggression created by the frustration is satisfied, thereby decreasing the drive and making further aggression less likely.
What is aggression not always expressed directly against the source of frustration?
- Cause of frustration may be abstract (e.g. economy).
- Cause may be too powerful and we risk punishment by aggressing against it.
- Cause may be unavailable at the time so our aggression may be displaced onto an alternative (e.g. younger sibling).
Who conducted research into the frustration aggression hypothesis?
Green
What was the procedure of Green’s study?
- Male uni students given the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle.
- Group 1: jigsaw was impossible to solve.
- Group 2: ran out of time because another student (confederate) key interrupting them.
- Group 3: a confederate kept insulting them as they failed to solve the puzzle.
- Next part of the study the participants got to give electric shocks to the confederate when they made a mistake on the task.
What were the findings of Green’s study?
- Insulted participants gave the strongest shocks on average.
- All 3 groups elected gave mire intense shocks that a control group.
State the role of environmental cues in the frustration aggression hypothesis.
Frustration creates a readiness to be aggressive but the presence of aggressive cues makes aggression much more likely.
Who conducted research into environmental cues?
Berkowitz and Lepage
What was the procedure of Berkowitz and Lepage’s study?
- Arranged for student participants to be given electric shocks in a lab study, creating anger and frustration.
- The electric shocks were administered by a confederate.
- The participants then had the opportunity to turn the tables and give electric shocks to the confederate.
What were the findings of Berkowitz and Lepage’s study?
- The number of shocks given depended on the presence or absence of weapons in the lab.
- Condition 1: 2 guns present on the table next to the shock machine - the average number of shocks given = 6.07.
- Condition 2: no guns - average number of shocks given = 4.67.
- Supports the suggestion that presence of aggressive cues stimulates aggression.
State a positive of the frustration aggression hypothesis.
Research support:
- meta-analysis of 49 studies of displaced aggression
- theses studies investigated situations in which aggressive behaviour had to be directed against a target other than the one that caused frustration
- participants who were provoked but unable to retaliate against the source of their frustration were significantly more likely to aggress against an innocent party than people who were not provoked
State 2 negatives of the frustration aggression hypothesis.
Is aggression cathartic?
- Bushman - found that ps who vented their anger by repeatedly hitting a punchbag actually became more aggressive and angry
- doing nothing was more effective at reducing aggression
Negative Affect theory:
- Berkowitz
What is the negative affect theory?
- Berkowitz argued that frustration is just 1 of the many aversive stimuli that create negative feelings (jealousy.. pain, loneliness).
- So aggressive behaviour is triggered by negative feelings in general rather than just frustration specifically.
- The outcome of frustration can be a range of responses: despair, anxiety, determination.
- Negative affect theory arose because the original frustration aggression hypothesis was inadequate, as it could only explain how aggression arises in some situations and not others.
