In a pair of investigations, researchers looked at the effect of frustrating social
conditions (Landau, 1988; Landau & Raveh, 1987). The investigators found
that increases in stressors such as unemployment tended to correspond with
increases in violent crimes.
Several direct tests of the frustration-aggression hypothesis find that
frustrated people act more aggressively than nonfrustrated people (Berkowitz,
Although hitting the machine probably won ’t get you a soft drink or your money back,
you might feel better. In this case the frustration of not getting the drink leads to the
aggression, which may lead to a cathartic release of tension.Psychoanalytic Concepts and Aggression 133