Frustration-Aggression

• Dollard et al. (1940): Frustration (being blocked from achieving a desirable goal) always gives rise to aggression and aggression is always caused by frustration, sometimes, direct aggression against the source of the frustration may be possible, and sometimes not
• Frustration may make aggression more likely, but it is a sufficient cause of aggression; other factors may inhibit its expression - e.g. learned inhibitions, fear of retaliation
• Frustration can lead to various responses, such as depression, resignation, giving up, or increased determination, not always aggression
• Proposed that when we are prevented from being aggressive towards the source of the frustration, we will displace it on to a substitute, or a ‘scapegoat’; the choice of the scapegoat is not usually random; always a community or group that is new, seen as a threat to jobs and livelihoods, is different, etc