Aggression shift

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In social psychology, a shift in aggression is understood to mean the aggressive action of a person against substitute objects such as weaker people or against things, because the actual object of aggression is viewed as too powerful or too strong. The shift in aggression is one of the defense mechanisms as a form of shift .

Concept history

The American psychologist Neal E. Miller (1909–2002) coined the term “aggression shift” in 1944. His essay Experimental studies of conflict behavior continued his work in the field of experimental aggression research. In this area he had developed the frustration-aggression hypothesis together with John Dollard from the late 1930s . Both Miller and Dollard were considered to be representatives of neo-behaviorism .

The aggression shift in the narrower sense describes the behavior of a person. In contrast, the scapegoat theory sees the aggression of groups against weaker groups, for example minorities and other foreign groups , the shift in aggression as one of the mechanisms of action, and thus expands the term.

Mechanism and Examples

The mechanism of the aggression shift works according to the expanded frustration-aggression hypothesis as follows:

  1. The occurrence of frustration leads to aggression in a person P , which is initially directed against the origin U of the frustration.
  2. However, U appears powerful or, in the eyes of P, has other resources that make aggression appear dangerous. In some cases, U is not tangible for P either.
  3. The aggression is therefore inhibited because of impending punishment or other unpleasant consequences, or can not objectively be carried out.
  4. The aggression is shifted to another (substitute) object E , which is perceived as weaker, and is acted out there by P.

Instead of frustration → aggression ( frustration-aggression hypothesis ), the aggression shift thus assumes the chain frustration → inhibition → shift → aggression. According to the psychoanalytic origins of displacement theory, these processes take place unconsciously . The more similar E is to U in certain perceived properties , the harder the aggression from P will be.

A substitute object can be an uninvolved person, another living being like a pet, but also objects like a slammed door or smashed dishes. Your own person can also become a substitute object, for example if you harm yourself .

See also

literature

  • Lorenz Fischer, Günter Wiswede: Fundamentals of social psychology . Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, ISBN 3486257900 .
  • Peter O. Güttler: Social Psychology . Oldenbourg, Munich 2003, ISBN 3486273302 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lorenz Fischer, Günter Wiswede: Fundamentals of social psychology . Munich 2002, pp. 448-449.
  2. ^ NE Miller: Experimental studies of conflict behavior . In: J. McV. Hunt (Ed.): Personality and behavior disorders . Ronald Press, New York 1944, pp. 431-465.
  3. ↑ Psychoanalysis & Science . On the collaboration between Miller and Dollard in anger research on the posthumous Neal E. Miller website. (Accessed December 1, 2010.)
  4. ^ Jürgen Wingchen: Communication and interviewing for nursing professions . Schlütersche, Hannover 2006, ISBN 3899934393 , pp. 43-44.