(PDF) Frustration-aggression theory

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• that is, an event result-ing in the termination of reinforcement that has previously maintained a behavior

• frustration was defined as a cause of extinction—

• extinction burst, particularly when the extinction procedure has just begun

• frustration occurs when anticipated reward is reduced, delayed, or removed completely

• Hanratty etal. (1972) described frustration as the “withdrawal of an anticipated reinforcer

• two requirements for an event to qualify as frustrating in the sense of the definition by Dollard etal. (1939): (1) Achieving the goal must be important or relevant to the subject and (2) achieving the goal must be perceived as a likely outcome by the subject

• events that reduce the experience of self-efficacy

• the closer a person is to achieving a goal, the more intense the effect of a frustra-tion will be on the aggressive inclinations of that person

• matters how much the frustration actually interferes with the attainment of the desired outcome

• the presence of aggression-facilitating cues is neither necessary nor sufficient for aggression to occur as a consequence of frustration in the self-determination theory framework

• superior oppo-nents

• games or game-like scenarios provide an optimal testing ground for the causes and consequences of these social contingencies for frustration

• but also because they allow meticulous manipulation and control of the contingencies thought to elicit (or prevent) frustration.

• frustrations are still defined as aversive events but that they “generate aggressive inclinations only to the extent that they produce negative affect”

• frustrations are just one of many potential sources of negative affect (Berkowitz, 1988)

• Berkowitz’s reformulation implies that there are additional sources of aggres-sive inclinations, such as insults, anxiety

• frus-tration is a sufficient rather than a necessary criterion for aggression

• Berkowitz’s reformulation is that it names “aggressive inclinations” instead of aggression or aggressive behavior as an outcome of frustration

• the occurrence of aggressive behavior always presup-poses the existence of frustration and, contrariwise, that the existence of frustration always leads to some form of aggression

• frustration is defined as an event instead of an affective state.