The Theory of Frustration by Abram Amsel

From the annals of history, from the creation of civilizations to our days, human beings have been characterized mainly by aspiring to achieve success, achieve the goals that one imposes and consequently pursue new objectives to increase motivation.

The failure or failure to achieve this motivation is what leads us to frustration, a depressive or negative state that according to Abram Amsel may have its origins in the biological field of human beings. We'll see now what exactly is the frustration theory of Abram Amsel and what it says about how we behave.

• Maybe you're interested: "Maslow's Pyramid: the hierarchy of human needs"

How do we define frustration?

Frustration is defined as a strictly unpleasant feeling in which a person previously deposits all his physical, psychic efforts, attitudes, aptitudes and time in order to achieve an objective that was set and the nullity thereof. That is, what is usually experienced by not having successfully achieved a goal.

On the other hand, frustration can be considered a totally subjective perception or feeling, of a personal nature and whose interpretation depends on each individual. In other words, the phenomenon of frustration can occur or not, depending on how one perceives the non-attainment of our goals.

Abram Amsel and the theory of frustration

Abram Amsel (1922-2006) was a distinguished researcher, theoretician, teacher and writer in the field of human behavior and in the different branches of psychological knowledge of human behavior. He is also the author of the book "The theory of frustration", published in 1992.

In general terms, Abram Amsel devoted himself with passion to the theories of human behavior by investigating the reward mechanisms, the psychological effects that the non-reward produces and on the different psychological reactions both when frustration is not assumed and when it is not assumed.

The theory of frustration understands and approaches concepts such as secondary frustration, which is a type of response learned from the same frustration; persistence (continue chasing the goal even without getting a reward) and regression, which implies the appearance of a certain mode of behavior in the early frustration phase.

• Related article: "Operant conditioning: concepts and main techniques"

Motivation is part of the frustration

Motivation is an inherent feeling of people that appears by the fact of achieving a goal, achieving a dream or by cover a certain personal need , as for example it could be to study. Being a doctor is what motivates a medical student to study.

In this sense, individuals build some priorities that depend on personal needs whether material, immaterial or emotional, as suggested by the theory of "Human Motivation" by Abraham Maslow (1943).

For this reason, motivation turns out to be a dependent variable of frustration. In other words, depending on the expectations that we create around us, the frustration will be less or greater, and at the same time the degree of motivation can be transformed according to the situation.

• Related article: "Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources"

The frustrating processes

Considering Abram Amsel's theory of frustration, there are several processes of frustration that we will see next.

1. Approach-Avoidance

This type of frustration is that which refers to two types of situations, one with a positive charge and the other with a negative charge, which makes us vulnerable to make a decision because of the fear of what we can lose .

2. Incompatibility of positive objectives

This situation occurs when we pursue two objectives that seem incompatible with each other . For example, we want to buy a luxury car but at the same time we want it at a cheap price.

3. The wall or barrier

Frustration is conceived by the inability to get something because some element in the form of barrier or obstacle (physical or not) prevents us.

Consequences

Like all human behavior, frustration has consequences that, in some cases, become serious and that if not treated by a professional specialist can become very harmful.

Some of the consequences of frustration can lead to an aggressive attitude towards others or towards oneself , coming to self-harm.Infantile behavior and regression are other common causes, although the most common complications are depression, sadness and introversion.

Solutions

The theory of the frustration of Abram Amsel gives us some remedies and solutions to avoid frustration. Among these suggestions Abram Amsel recommends identifying the origin and its cause , try to look for alternative objectives that produce us full satisfaction and, above all, set realistic and affordable objectives.

We live in a society in which the working world, according to Amsel, Hull and Maslow, plays a great role in the collective level of frustration, where the key to success is preconceived by standards of competition and wanting to be part of the glory. Therefore, rethinking this framework of relationships is also necessary.

• Related article: "Perfectionist personality: the disadvantages of perfectionism"