Anger & Frustration Theories of Violence

Over the course of a couple of recent articles, I looked at how Social Learning Theory and Freud’s Instinct Aggression Theory attempted to explain aggressive and violent behaviors. These were two of the first theories on aggression/violence that were covered on my degree/undergraduate program. The third approach/set of theories I was exposed to involved how anger and frustration could lead to aggression and violence. This was something that was the focus of several studies in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Dollard et al., initially proposed that all frustration inevitably led to aggression whether that occurred in the moment or was delayed e.g., a previous “frustration” caused by one person could result in aggression towards another/different person at a later date – anger and frustration could be “stored” and potentially directed at an “innocent” party later on etc. Dollard later refined his thinking and added a contextual element to it, which meant that anger/frustration wouldn’t inevitably lead to aggressive and violent behaviors; he suggested that anger/frustration would only lead to aggression if it was a response to a particular “goal” being blocked e.g., a person driving a car wants to change lane (a goal), and another driver deliberately prevents them from doing this, therefore setting the stage for an incident of road rage etc. Obviously, there are those who would shrug off such a behavior, and not be frustrated and/or angered by someone behaving in this way, taking a more philosophical approach to the situation, whilst there are others who would become angry and frustrated. Dollard, and many of those who followed, such as Barker et al., in the following decade, conducted their research looking at the way children responded to being frustrated, such a being shown exciting toys but not having access to them, or being kept waiting before being allowed to play with toys etc. One of the issues with studying children, apart from obvious ethical ones, is that the findings may not be valid for adults whose minds are more fully developed. Long-criticized studies that use university students as the sample base suffer a similar issue; a relatively well-educated, middle class, late teen/early twenties group may not be representative of a larger population.

                Whilst the idea of “sexual frustration” leading to aggression and violence, which gained a degree of popularity in medieval Europe (i.e., if men can’t get sexual relief through marriage or sex workers, they will inevitably engage in violence etc.) - exhibited an extreme and unfounded degree of inertia in subsequent decades, it is now largely seen to be erroneous explanation of violence. However, ideas of such “frustrations” have started to be reinvestigated, in both men and women, due to the creation of the Incel culture via social media, and the violent acts of some of its members. Those who are “Incels” – involuntary celibates – are frustrated that they are not able to have sexual partners/enjoy sexual relationships. They are angry and frustrated by those who do, and believe that societal values favor people other than themselves; that you must be “good-looking” and “fit” in order to be attractive.

This group/movement which is predominantly male is misogynistic, portraying women as fickle and manipulative characters who operate in an unjust “sexual marketplace” where they have all the advantages. When looking at what these advantages actually are, it usually comes down to the fact that women have the choice to pick who their sexual partners are i.e., exercise consent, which is seen as being “unfair”, because society has created a set of values that doesn’t favor those who identify as being Incels. At the heart of Incel frustration, like many “frustrations” is self-entitlement. They see women as being hypergamous, who choose partners of a higher status than themselves, in order to elevate their own status. Because of these things  women will never choose them because they are of a lower status than other men, which is unfair. Whilst there are those Incels who believe that they can improve their status, via body-building, and improving their appearance etc., most believe that their situation is hopeless, and it may be this that explains the reason(s)/motivation(s) for those who act violently rather than simply explaining these violent acts as being the result of “frustration” and “anger” alone.                

                It is also important to note, that those who identify as Incels, and go on to commit violent acts, such as mass killings (2018 Toronto Killings, where eleven were killed in a vehicular killing/ramming by Alek Minassian) or active shooter rampages (2023 shooting by Mauricio Martinez Garcia at the Allen Texas Mall, 2021 shooting by Jake Davison in Plymouth, UK, and the 2014 shooting in Isla Vista, California, by Elliot Rodger) etc. follow a process, similar to radicalization, and many give clear warning signs on the social media groups they frequent. Initially when individuals become members of these groups, they enjoy a positive sense of solidarity by finding that they are not alone in their views and feelings; it may be that they initially believe that they are part of a much larger community of disenfranchised – often white – men, and that their “predicament” isn’t limited to them alone. Whilst for many belonging to such media communities, which often pop up and then disappear, is temporary, some individuals become drawn into them, and start to feed off the communal anger and frustration, coming to the conclusion that the only solution to their situation is violence. In a study conducted by Rutgers University, 80% of all posts on Incel sites talked about women and what should be done to them, most of which involved violence. The growth of social media has allowed individuals who before may have felt isolated and disempowered to share their feelings and frustrations with others. What may have once been a frustration experienced by one individual can now be easily shared amongst others, with a degree of anonymity and without the potential shame and embarrassment of doing so in a face-to-face public setting.

                Whilst anger and frustration don’t automatically lead to violent offending, that which is sustained and fed is more likely to. Whilst most of us have experienced moments/incidents of anger and frustration, more often than not, these have not caused us to respond aggressively and violently etc. However, when angry and frustrated like-minded individuals find each other and support each other’s sense of injustice, some may feel confident and emboldened to seek justice/revenge etc. Whilst a good deal of research has been conducted concerning frustration and anger in a moment e.g., having toys taken away (Dollard et al.) or being made to wait (Barker et al.) etc., there is a need for more research into sustained and prolonged anger and frustration(s) such as that experienced by Incels.