What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
- The frustration-aggression hypothesis (FAH) is based on the concept that frustration will always result in aggression (Dollard, 1939)
- The FAH posits the idea that aggression occurs when a psychological drive to achieve a goal is obstructed in some way i.e. 'This traffic jam means I’m going to be late for work!'; 'Why won’t my teacher give me a higher mark for this assignment?'
- The FAH draws from the psychodynamic concept of catharsis i.e. aggression serves to give vent to pent-up feelings in the moment which ultimately helps to reduce the need for further aggression (in this case the short-term aggressive response works as a kind of ‘safety-valve’ against heightened future aggression e.g. blasting your horn at an inconsiderate driver is safer than ramming their car!
- The aggressive response as suggested by the FAH cannot always be expressed directly towards the source of the frustration (displaced aggression): the source may be at some remove e.g. the government; expressing frustration may lead to punishment e.g. from a court of law; the source may not be present e.g. that boyfriend who stole your favourite band T-shirt is long-gone
- Berkowitz (1969) suggested that frustration will not always lead to aggression: aggressive behaviour is triggered by specific environmental cues e.g. the presence of a gun or knife
A reasonable response to someone’s inconsiderate driving?...
Exam Tip
Examiners report that some exam scripts are ‘unreadable’ so please be aware that presenting barely legible work is likely to result in the examiner not being able to mark your work properly. If there are real concerns about your handwriting you have two options: get permission to use a keyboard in the exam or improve your writing - fast! You don’t want whoever is marking your work to feel frustrated due to your bad handwriting and thus behave aggressively towards marking your paper…
Research which investigates the frustration-aggression hypothesis
- Green (1968) - a lab experiment in which participants were asked to complete a jigsaw puzzle under different FAH conditions (an unattainable time limit; an impossible jigsaw; a confederate directing insults at them) : the group of participants who had experienced insults from the confederate gave the highest levels of electric shocks to him
- Marcus-Newell et al. (2000) - a meta-analysis which found robust research support for the FAH
Evaluation of the frustration-aggression hypothesis
Strengths
- There is some good research support for the FAH, with displaced aggression showing particularly reliable results
- The FAH is a valid explanation of reactive aggression
Weaknesses
- Bateson (1941) found that the FAH is not universal: the Iatmul people of New Guinea embraced aggression as a response to frustration compared to the Balinese who showed no aggression when faced with frustration hence the theory lacks external validity
- Lewis & Bucher (1992) questioned the value of catharsis as used in therapeutic settings as a form of anger-management as, they suggest, the venting of frustration via aggression may actually increase the patient’s anger/aggression
Link to Issues & Debates:
The FAH does not account for individual differences e.g. some people will become angry when frustrated while other people will retreat or not react at all which means that the theory takes a nomothetic approach. A nomothetic approach attempts to provide general, universal laws rather than an idiographic approach which aims to understand individual behaviour, which could be more meaningful when applied to the FAH.
Worked example
The table below outlines the results obtained from a correlational study of the number of acts of aggression performed over the course of one month and the number of one-hour meditation sessions attended in that same month.
Table 1: number of acts of aggression reported over one month and number of meditation sessions attended.
|
Dieter |
Number of aggressive acts |
Number of meditation sessions |
|
A |
2 |
16 |
|
B |
21 |
1 |
|
C |
14 |
3 |
|
D |
0 |
0 |
- Outline two of the findings from the correlational data in this table on the relationship between aggressive acts and meditation.
[4]
AO2 = 4 marks
For 3-4 marks the answer will demonstrate understanding of how to interpret data in tabular form. There will be some detail and effective use of terminology.
For 1- 2 marks the answer will be less confident in using the table to interpret data. There is likely to be a lack of detail and terminology will be either absent or used wrongly.
Possible answer content could include any two of the following:
- The results of the study indicate a negative correlation between aggressive acts and meditation i.e. the more meditation sessions attended, the lower the number of reported aggressive acts
- Person B, who reported 21 aggressive acts also attended the fewest mediation sessions (1) over the course of the month which implies that lack of meditation may be linked to heightened aggression
- Person D reported 0 for both aggressive acts and meditation sessions which means that their data is inconclusive and could not be used in further statistical analysis
- Suggest one way in which these results could be used to understand the frustration-aggression hypothesis. [2]
AO3 = 2 marks
Possible answer content could include:
- These findings suggest that in the absence of calming measures/practice such as meditation it is more likely that people will resort to aggression to vent their feelings of frustration
- A negative correlation between aggression and meditation could be used to understand people who frequently become aggressive when frustrated: mediation could be suggested as a useful therapeutic solution
