The Effects of Peer Vs. Adult Frustration on Boys of Middle Childhood

Summary

This experiment investigated the effects of peer vs. adult frustration on aggressive responses of eight-year-old boys. In addition, the effect of frustration vs. nonfrustration on aggressive responding was tested.

In two experimental conditions, groups of four boys were brought into a room and read instructions preparing them for a game-competition situation. Either a peer or an adult confederate disrupted the group's goal completion. A control condition without disruption was also used.

Considerably more aggression was expressed in the peer condition than in the adult condition, on the basis of the aggression category of the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Test, Children's Form (20). Frustration in general led to significantly more aggression than no frustration.

The results indicated that boys of middle childhood are more attentive to and are likely to exhibit more aggressive reaction to peer frustration than adult frustration. In addition, frustration in general yielded more aggressive reaction than no frustration, supporting the original frustration-aggression theory proposed by Dollard et al. (8).