Frustration – Aggression Theories of Conflict Frustration – Aggression Structural Violence Relative Deprivation Social Identity

Frustration-Aggression When people perceive that they are being prevented from achieving a goal, their frustration is likely to turn to aggression. The closer you get to a goal, the greater the excitement and expectation of the pleasure. The closer you are, the more frustrated you get by being held back. Unexpected occurrence of the frustration also increases the likelihood of aggression.

Structural Violence Denotes a form of violence which corresponds with the systematic ways in which a social structure or institution kills people slowly by preventing them from meeting basic needs. Examples: institutionalized elitism, racism ethnocentrism, classism, sexism, adultism, nationalism, heterosexism and ageism.

Relative Deprivation Relative deprivation refers to the discontent people feel when they compare their positions in life to those of similar people and find that they have less than them. It is a condition that is measured by comparing one group’s situation to the situations of those who are more advantaged.

Social Identity A psychological theory formed to understand the way in which humans formulate their identity (their Self) especially as we do this in relation to other groups of people. This theory is particularly interested with the concept of In-Group/Out-Group syndrome.

Social Identity, continued Categorization: We often put others (and ourselves) into categories. Labeling someone a Muslim, a Turk, or a soccer player are ways of saying other things about these people. Identification: We also associate with certain groups (our in-groups), which serves to bolster our self-esteem.

Social Identity, continued Comparison: We compare our groups with other groups, seeing a favorable bias toward the group to which we belong. Psychological Distinctiveness: We desire our identity to be both distinct from and positively compared with other groups.