FRUSTRATION - AGGRESSION

• What is the frustration aggression hypothesis

  frustration always leads to aggression. When our drive to reach a goal is blocked by external factors we experience frustration which, in turn, creates an aggressive drive, this can lead to aggressive behaviour. When we express this aggression physically, verbally or by fantasising we experience Catharsis and our emotional tension is reduced
• what is catharsis?

  process of releasing and therefore gaining relief from strong, unpleasant emotions
• who proposed the frustration aggression hypothesi?

  Dollard
• Why may aggression be displaced?

  The cause is abstract (economy, government)

  Cause is powerful and we risk punishment by aggression against it (boss, teacher, police)

  Cause may be temporarily unavailable (angry at someone but can’t get in touch with them)
• What is the weapons effect Procedure?

  Berkowitz created anger and frustration in participants by having a confederate give them electric shocks, participants then had opportunity to shock confederate
• what were the findings of the weapons effect?

  a marked difference in the number of shocks given if there were weapons in the lab. One condition had two guns next to shock machine, average number of shocks was 6.07, controls condition with no guns average shocks was 4.67
• what is the weapons effect?

  suggests that the presence of aggressive environmental cues can turn a readiness for aggression into actual aggressive behaviour.

  “the finger pulls the trigger, but the trigger may also be pulling the finger”
• What was Green’s procedure?

  male university students completes a jigsaw puzzle during which level of frustration was manipulated in one of three ways: puzzle was impossible, ran out of time due confederate interfering and insulted by confederate. Then gave fake electric shocks to confederate whenever he made a mistake
• what were Green’s findings?

  insulted participants gave the strongest shocks on average, then the interfered group then the impossible task. All three selected more intense shocks than a non frustrated control group
• Evaluation point 1

  STRENGTH supporting research

  Green’s research clearly shows that frustration creates an aggressive drive and leads to aggression
• evaluation point 2

  LIMITATION evidence that aggression is not cathartic

  Bushman found participants who vented anger by hitting a punch bag became more angry and aggressive rather than less. casts doubt on the validity of a central assumption of the hypothesis
• evaluation point 3

  STRENGTH real life application

  Berkowitz argument that the trigger can pull the finger has features in the US gun control debate. Some states allow ‘open carry’ where a gun doesnt have to he concealed but the presence of a weapon acts as a cue to aggression making its use more likely. Research into weapons effect may reduce gun related violence