Kim Cao 13F1
Outline and evaluate two theories of the cause of aggression
The frustration aggression hypothesis dominated aggression research for several decades. It is suggested that aggression is a direct response that individuals make to frustration. The theory claims that frustration always leads to aggression and that every aggressive act is the result of some form of frustration. The theory also states that aggression can sometimes be displaced, turned to someone or something is not necessarily the cause of the initial frustration. There was some evidence supporting this hypothesis. Doob and Sears (1939) reported that when participants were asked to imagine frustrating and non-frustrating situations, they generally felt angry in the frustrating situations however this hypothesis was attacked because it failed to account for justified and unjustified frustration. When Doob and Sear's experiments were repeated with justified frustration, then anger decreased significantly.
The whole hypothesis has been strongly criticised. Frustration does not inevitably result in aggression. It is important to identify the circumstances under which frustration will end in aggression. For example the frustrated individual may well bust into tears, and instead of using aggression as a releaser, may well instead become depressed and withdraw from the situation. This is not surprising considering the restraints on aggressive behaviour within all human societies. There are also innumerable examples of aggression which does not arise from frustration, for example cold blooded acts of premeditated murder committed by a paid killer. In response Miller et al revised the hypothesis slightly, stating that frustration leads to a range of responses, with aggression being the most common but not the only possible response. However, Miller revised hypothesis still fails to answer why there should be such a wide variation amongst individuals.
