PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPTS AND AGRESSION
Play never have I ever winner: least aggressive person in the room???Never have I ever hit someone because I was mad at him/herNever have I ever cursed someone because I was mad at him/herNever have I ever thought of wanting to kill someone I hateNever have I ever stormed out because I got mad at my parentsNever have I ever talked back to my parents when they reprimand meNever have I ever pushed someone during rush hours while trying to get into the LRT/MRTNever have I ever broken something (anything: a mug, tore a picture) because I was angryNever have I ever gotten into a fight with someone I dont know (maybe someone you sat next to in the bus)Never have I ever yelled at someone because I was angryNever have I ever made someone cry because I was angryNever have I ever been mad at someone for no apparent reasonNever have I ever thrown something (anything!) out of anger1
PSYCHOANALYTIC CONCEPTS AND AGGRESSIONDARLENE REYESTell example of story where frustration led to aggression - You are doing your thesis and you dont know what to write next. You get frustrated and you throw the thing next to you2
FRUSTRATION AGGRESSIONWhat these reactions illustrate is the commonly observed connection between frustration and aggression. one of the first efforts to explain the association between frustration and aggression can be found in Freuds early writings.3
FREUD:AGGRESSION IS THE RESULT OF FRUSTRATED LIBIDO4
PRIMORDIAL REACTIONDISPLACING OUR AGGRESSION pleasure-seeking impulse is blocked, we experience a primordial reaction to attack the obstacle. our egos keep us from assaulting anyone and everyone who spoils our fun so we displace out aggression5
FREUD:AGGRESSION IS THE RESULT OF FRUSTRATED LIBIDO PRIMORDIAL REACTION DISPLACING OUR AGGRESSIONXTHANATOSChanged his views due to world war 1Thanatos death instinctFreud claimed that we all have an instinctual desire to destroy ourselves. But because a fully functioning ego does not allow self-destruction, the instinct is turned outward toward others6
FREUD:AGGRESSION IS THE RESULT OF FRUSTRATED LIBIDO PRIMORDIAL REACTION DISPLACING OUR AGGRESSION
FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS(Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, & Sears, 1939) However, it was Freuds original position that later inspired researchers interested in the connection between frustration and aggression.7
AGGRESSION IS ALWAYS A CONSEQUENCE OF FRUSTRATIONFRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS
THE OCCURRENCE OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ALWAYS PRESUPPOSES THE EXISTENCE OF FRUSTRATION FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS
THE EXISTENCE OF FRUSTRATION ALWAYS LEADS TO SOME FORM OF AGGRESSIONFRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESISthe psychologists argued there is but one cause of aggression (frustration) and one response to frustration (aggression).10
CATHARSISRELEASE OF TENSION
DOLLARD, DOOB, MILLER, MOWRER, & SEARSFREUD RELEASE OF PSYCHIC ENERGY AROUSAL, ENERGY LEVELS, AND MUSCLE TENSIONThe researchers adopted another psychoanalytic notion to explain when aggression will stop. They proposed that aggression ceases when we experience catharsis, loosely conceived of as a release of tension. The frustrated student who kicks her books across the room and the slumping batter who pounds his bat against the dugout wall should feel their tensions subside. Until the frustration builds tension levels up again, we should expect no further outbreaks. 11
GIVEN ALL OF THE FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCES IN OUR LIVES, WHY DONT WE SPEND MORE OF OUR TIME ACTING AGGRESSIVELY? some of the original theorists modified their positions, again borrowing from psychoanalytic theories (Doob & Sears, 1939; Miller, 1941; Sears, 194112
INDIRECT EXPRESSIONS OF ANGERSUBLIMATIONDISPLACEMENT displacing the aggression to a new targetThus frustration always leads to aggression, but not always in the most obvious forms.The frustration-aggression hypothesis and its subsequent variations have spawned a large amount of research. The following sections examine three topics addressed by that research, each of which retains a psychoanalytic flavor: frustration, displacement, and catharsis.13FRUSTRATIONDISPLACEMENTCATHARSIS14
FRUSTRATION AND AGGRESSION15
GUERRA, HUESMANN, TOLAN, VAN ACKER, & ERON (1995)THE MOST AGGRESSIVE CHILDREN WERE THOSE WHO EXPERIENCED THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF STRESS & FRUSTRATION AT HOME. Elementary school children in one study were asked which of their classmates engaged in aggressive behavior, such as pushing or shoving. The investigators found that 16
CATALANO, DOOLEY, NOVACO, WILSON, & HOUGH (1993)ADULTS WHO HAD BEEN LAID OFF FROM THEIR JOBS WERE 6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN AN ACT OF VIOLENCE, such as striking a spouse, than those who were still employed.
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LANDAU (1988); LANDAU & RAVEH (1987)INCREASES IN STRESSORS TENDED TO CORRESPOND WITH INCREASES IN VIOLENT CRIMES. researchers looked at the effect of frustrating social conditions STRESSORS such as unemployment 18
HARRIS, 1974FRUSTRATED PEOPLE TOWARD THE FRONT OF THE LINE EXPRESSED MORE AGGRESSION THAN THE LESS FRUSTRATED PEOPLE TOWARD THE END.
Researchers in one study intentionally provoked unsuspecting people standing in lines in stores, banks, and at ticket windows Because previous studies had shown greater frustration the closer people are to their goal, the investigators cut in front of either the 3rd person in line (close to the goal) or the 12th person in line. The researcher glanced back to notice the persons response and, after 20 seconds, apologized and left. Responses were coded for verbal aggression, such as making threatening comments, and nonverbal aggression, such as pushing and shoving. The results are shown in Figure 6.1. As expected, frustrated people toward the front of the line expressed more aggression than the less frustrated people toward the end. 19FRUSTRATION CAN CAUSEAGGRESSIONINDICATED BY THE VARIOUS DATA COLLECTED FROM THE RESEARCHMOST RESEARCHERS BELIEVED THAT THE ORIGINAL HYPOTHESIS WAS TOO LIMITED
20FRUSTRATION CAN CAUSEAGGRESSIONX IS BUT ONE OF MANY NEGATIVE EMOTIONS THAT INCREASE (BERKOWITZ, 1989, 1994, 1998; LINDSAY & ANDERSON, 2000)21
FRUSTRATIONS ARE UNPLEASANTThings that frustrate us are unpleasant, and it is the unpleasantness that we respond to when frustrated.22
FRUSTRATIONS ARE UNPLEASANTUNPLEASANTNESSThings that frustrate us are unpleasant, and it is the unpleasantness that we respond to when frustrated.23
ADVANTAGES OVER THE ORIGINAL HYPOTHESIS24
THE NEW MODEL EXPLAINS WHY FRUSTRATION DOES NOT ALWAYS LEAD TO AGGRESSION Frustration facilitates aggression only to the extent that it is perceived as unpleasant25
THE MODEL CLARIFIES WHY CERTAIN THOUGHTS INCREASE OR DECREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF ACTING AGGRESSIVELY26
THOUGHTS THAT CREATE NEGATIVE FEELINGS MAKE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE MORE UNPLEASANT AND INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR AGGRESSION. THOUGHTS THAT DECREASE NEGATIVE FEELINGS REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF AGGRESSION.27
DISPLACING AGGRESSIONGIVE EXAMPLE28
DISPLACING AGGRESSION WE DONT ALWAYS ATTACK THE SOURCE OF OUR FRUSTRATION DIRECTLY; WE SOMETIMES DIRECT OUR FRUSTRATION-INDUCED ANGER TOWARD SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT DESERVE ITBECAUSE IT IS USUALLY SAFER29
MARCUS-NEWHALL, PEDERSEN, CARLSON, & MILLER (2000). WE SOMETIMES DISPLACE AGGRESSION FROM A FRUSTRATING SOURCE TO AN INNOCENT TARGET 30
KONECNI & DOOB (1972) PEOPLE DISPLACED THEIR AGGRESSIVE TENDENCIES ONTO THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER
Participants in one of these studies were asked to work on some anagrams . Some people found the task frustrating, especially because another participant (a confederate of the experimenter)persistently annoyed them while they worked on the problems. Other participants were allowed to work on the task without interruptions. Participants were then given the opportunity to grade another individual on a creativity task. The means of grading was electric shock. Participants were told to give this other person painful (but not harmful) shocks whenever they heard uncreative responses. Although no actual shocks were delivered, the number of shocks participants thought they were giving was used to measure aggression. How was displacement tested in this study? Some participants were fortunate enough to find that the person who had earlier annoyed them was the one hooked up to the shock apparatus. For other participants, the person receiving the shock was a stranger. The results from the relevant conditions are shown in Figure 6.2. Not surprisingly, participants given the chance to get even with the person who had frustrated them gave more shocks than the nonfrustrated participants. However, frustrated participants given the opportunity to shock a stranger also delivered more shocks than the nonfrustrated participants. In other words, these people displaced their aggressive tendencies onto the innocent bystander.31
HOOBLER & BRASS (2006)THE MORE FRUSTRATION EXPERIENCED BY THE SUPERVISORS, THE MORE EMPLOYEES WORKING DIRECTLY BELOW THEM FELT ABUSED BY THE SUPERVISOR. One team of researchers looked for evidence of displaced aggression in the business world. They first measured the amount of frustration supervisors experienced at work, such as not being promoted or feeling as if they were treated unfairly by the company. Of course, these supervisors were reluctant to express their anger directly toward their bosses32
HOOBLER & BRASS (2006) THE MORE THE EMPLOYEES FELT ABUSED BY THEIR BOSS AT WORK, THE MORE UNPLEASANT THEY WERE TO THEIR FAMILIES. displaced aggression may not simply disappear, but may get passed down to the next person in the hierarchy. 33
MILLER, PEDERSEN, EARLEYWINE, & POLLOCK (2003)TRIGGERED DISPLACED AGGRESSIONBut not all victims of displaced aggression are completely innocent. Sometimes the targets of displaced aggression have done something to annoy the person attacking themdisplaced aggression is most likely to occur when we encounter a minor source of annoyance that we otherwise would easily tolerate or ignore
We see examples of this effect when a frustrated mother overreacts to her childs messy room or a basketball player having a bad game lashes out at an opponent who happens to brush up against him too hard.34
CATHARSIS AND AGGRESSIONGIVE EXAMPLE35
CATHARSIS AND AGGRESSION OUR NEED TO AGGRESS IS REDUCED AFTER A CATHARTIC RELEASE OF TENSIONGIVE EXAMPLE (PUNCHING PILLOW)36
CATHARSIS AND AGGRESSIONTHE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH FRUSTRATION, MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE, IS TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS AGAINST SOME HARMLESS TARGET37
CATHARSIS AND AGGRESSIONTHE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH FRUSTRATION, MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE, IS TO EXPRESS OUR FEELINGS AGAINST SOME HARMLESS TARGETX38
BUSHMAN (2002) CATHARTIC REACTION NOT REDUCE AGGRESSION, SEVERAL STUDIES FIND THAT ACTING AGGRESSIVELY OFTEN INCREASES THE TENDENCY TO AGGRESS
Consider the experience of participants in one investigation, who wrote essays that supposedly were graded by another participant (Bushman, 2002). The feedback from this other person was particularly harsh, ending with a handwritten comment that This is one of the worst essays I have ever read! Needless to say, this irritated the real participants. Some of these angry participants were then given the chance to hit a punching bag as hard and for as many times as they wished while looking at a picture of and thinking about the person who had just insulted them. Other participants also hit the punching bag, but were told to do so while thinking about how much exercise they were getting. Finally, some participants had no opportunity to hit anything, and simply sat quietly for a few minutes. As shown in Figure 6.3, the conventional wisdom about letting off steam didnt work. Not only were the participants who hit the bag while thinking of their insulter the angriest, they also were the most aggressive when later given a chance to do something that would hurt the person they were mad at. Contrary to the advice we have all received, the least angry and least aggressive participants were those who calmly sat alone without punching anything.
These findings also contradict the original frustration-aggression hypothesis, which maintained that aggression leads to a tension-reducing catharsis that reduces the need for aggression39
REASONS (GEEN & QUANTY, 1977) ACTING AGGRESSIVELY MAY LEAD TO A KIND OF DISINHIBITION That is, most of us have strong reservations about physically hurting other people. However, once we violate that rule, we may find it easier to attack in the future
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REASONS (GEEN & QUANTY, 1977) PRESENCE OF AGGRESSIVE CUES something we associate with violence (for example, a gun) often increases aggression41
REASONS (GEEN & QUANTY, 1977) AGGRESSIVE ACTS MAY BE REINFORCEDBECAUSE CATHARSIS FEELS GOOD behaviors that lead to pleasant consequences are likely to be repeated. Thus, rather than reducing aggression, catharsis may do the opposite.
42REFERENCES:
http://www.trbimg.com/img-53a335af/turbine/ct-almanac-freud-met-0923-jpg-20140619/2000/1412x2000
Burger, J. (2011). Personality. Belmont: Cengage.
http://obedientmachine.com/portfolio/minimal-superhero-posters/
