Frustration

This article is about the emotional response of frustration. For other uses, see Frustration (disambiguation).

A frustrated man sitting in a traffic jam
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Emotions

In psychology, frustration is a common emotional response to opposition, related to anger, annoyance and disappointment. Frustration arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of an individual's will or goal and is likely to increase when a will or goal is denied or blocked.[1][2][3] There are two types of frustration: internal and external. Internal frustration may arise from challenges in fulfilling personal goals, desires, instinctual drives and needs, or dealing with perceived deficiencies, such as a lack of confidence or fear of social situations. Conflict, such as when one has competing goals that interfere with one another, can also be an internal source of frustration or annoyance and can create cognitive dissonance. External causes of frustration involve conditions outside an individual's control, such as a physical roadblock, a difficult task, or the perception of wasting time.[4] There are multiple ways individuals cope with frustration such as passive–aggressive behavior, anger, or violence, although frustration may also propel positive processes via enhanced effort and strive.[5] This broad range of potential outcomes makes it difficult to identify the original cause(s) of frustration, as the responses may be indirect. However, a more direct and common response is a propensity towards aggression.[6][7]

  1. ^ Crossman, Angela M.; Sullivan, Margaret Wolan; Hitchcock, Daniel M.; Lewis, Michael (2009). "When frustration is repeated: Behavioral and emotion responses during extinction over time". Emotion. 9 (1): 92–100. doi:10.1037/a0014614. ISSN 1931-1516. PMC 2719881. PMID 19186920.
  2. ^ De Botton, Alain (April 2011). The Consolations of Philosophy. New York: Vintage Books, a division of Random House Inc. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-679-77917-9.
  3. ^ Boyd, Thomas L. (1982). "Learned helplessness in humans: A frustration-produced response pattern". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 42 (4): 738–752. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.42.4.738. ISSN 0022-3514.
  4. ^ "Frustration". Psychologist Anywhere Anytime. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  5. ^ Jeronimus; et al. (January 2018). "Frustration". In Zeigler-Hill, V.; Shackelford, T.K. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. New York: Springer. pp. 1–8. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_815-1. ISBN 978-3-319-28099-8. S2CID 241919639.
  6. ^ Miller, NE (July 1941), "The frustration–aggression hypothesis", Psychological Review, 48 (4): 337–42, doi:10.1037/h0055861.
  7. ^ A.H., Buss (1966). "Instrumentality of aggression, feedback, and frustration as determinants of physical aggression". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 3 (2): 153–162. doi:10.1037/h0022826. PMID 5903523.