Frustration
In psychology, frustration is a common emotional response to opposition. Related to
anger and disappointment, it arises from the perceived resistance to the
fulfillment of individual will. The greater the obstruction, and the greater the
will, the more the frustration is likely to be. Causes of frustration may be
internal or external. In people, internal frustration may arise from challenges
in fulfilling personal goals and desires, instinctual drives and needs, or
dealing with perceived deficiencies, such as a lack of confidence or fear of
social situations. Conflict can also be an internal source of frustration; when
one has competing goals that interfere with one another, it can create cognitive
dissonance. External causes of frustration involve conditions outside an
individual, such as a blocked road or a difficult task. While coping with
frustration, some individuals may engage in passive–aggressive behavior, making
it difficult to identify the original cause(s) of their frustration, as the
responses are indirect. A more direct, and common response, is a propensity
towards aggression
Causes
To the
individual experiencing anger, the emotion is usually attributed to external
factors that are beyond his or her control. Although mild frustration due to
internal factors (e.g. laziness, lack of effort) is often a positive force
(inspiring motivation), it is more often than not a perceived uncontrolled
problem that instigates more severe, and perhaps pathological. An individual
suffering from pathological anger will often feel powerless to change the
situation they are in, leading to and, if left uncontrolled, further
anger.
It can be a
result of blocking motivated behavior. An individual may react in several
different ways. He/she may respond with rational problem-solving methods to
overcome the barrier. Failing in this, he/she may become frustrated and behave
irrationally. An example of blockage of motivational energy would be the case of
a worker who wants time off to go fishing but is denied permission by his/her
supervisor. Another example would be the executive who wants a promotion but
finds he/she lacks certain qualifications. If, in these cases, an appeal to
reason does not succeed in reducing the barrier or in developing some reasonable
alternative approach, the frustrated individual may resort to less adaptive
methods of trying to reach the goal. He/she may, for example, attack the barrier
physically, verbally, or both.
Symptoms
Frustration
can be considered a problem–response behavior, and can have a number of effects,
depending on the mental health of the individual. In positive cases, this
frustration will build until a level that is too great for the individual to
contend with, and thus produce action directed at solving the inherent problem.
In negative cases, however, the individual may perceive the source of
frustration to be outside of their control, and thus the frustration will
continue to build, leading eventually to further problematic behavior (e.g.
violent reaction).
Stubborn
refusal to respond to new conditions affecting the goal, such as removal or
modification of the barrier, sometimes occurs. As pointed out by J.A.C. Brown,
severe punishment may cause individuals to continue nonadaptive behavior
blindly: "Either it may have an effect opposite to that of reward and as such,
discourage the repetition of the act, or, by functioning as a frustrating agent,
it may lead to fixation and the other symptoms of frustration as well. It
follows that punishment is a dangerous tool, since it often has effects which
are entirely the opposite of those desired".
anger and disappointment, it arises from the perceived resistance to the
fulfillment of individual will. The greater the obstruction, and the greater the
will, the more the frustration is likely to be. Causes of frustration may be
internal or external. In people, internal frustration may arise from challenges
in fulfilling personal goals and desires, instinctual drives and needs, or
dealing with perceived deficiencies, such as a lack of confidence or fear of
social situations. Conflict can also be an internal source of frustration; when
one has competing goals that interfere with one another, it can create cognitive
dissonance. External causes of frustration involve conditions outside an
individual, such as a blocked road or a difficult task. While coping with
frustration, some individuals may engage in passive–aggressive behavior, making
it difficult to identify the original cause(s) of their frustration, as the
responses are indirect. A more direct, and common response, is a propensity
towards aggression
Causes
To the
individual experiencing anger, the emotion is usually attributed to external
factors that are beyond his or her control. Although mild frustration due to
internal factors (e.g. laziness, lack of effort) is often a positive force
(inspiring motivation), it is more often than not a perceived uncontrolled
problem that instigates more severe, and perhaps pathological. An individual
suffering from pathological anger will often feel powerless to change the
situation they are in, leading to and, if left uncontrolled, further
anger.
It can be a
result of blocking motivated behavior. An individual may react in several
different ways. He/she may respond with rational problem-solving methods to
overcome the barrier. Failing in this, he/she may become frustrated and behave
irrationally. An example of blockage of motivational energy would be the case of
a worker who wants time off to go fishing but is denied permission by his/her
supervisor. Another example would be the executive who wants a promotion but
finds he/she lacks certain qualifications. If, in these cases, an appeal to
reason does not succeed in reducing the barrier or in developing some reasonable
alternative approach, the frustrated individual may resort to less adaptive
methods of trying to reach the goal. He/she may, for example, attack the barrier
physically, verbally, or both.
Symptoms
Frustration
can be considered a problem–response behavior, and can have a number of effects,
depending on the mental health of the individual. In positive cases, this
frustration will build until a level that is too great for the individual to
contend with, and thus produce action directed at solving the inherent problem.
In negative cases, however, the individual may perceive the source of
frustration to be outside of their control, and thus the frustration will
continue to build, leading eventually to further problematic behavior (e.g.
violent reaction).
Stubborn
refusal to respond to new conditions affecting the goal, such as removal or
modification of the barrier, sometimes occurs. As pointed out by J.A.C. Brown,
severe punishment may cause individuals to continue nonadaptive behavior
blindly: "Either it may have an effect opposite to that of reward and as such,
discourage the repetition of the act, or, by functioning as a frustrating agent,
it may lead to fixation and the other symptoms of frustration as well. It
follows that punishment is a dangerous tool, since it often has effects which
are entirely the opposite of those desired".