Conflicts and Frustrations

Conflict
* It is the emotional state or condition in which people have to make difficult decisions about two or more competing motives, behaviors or impulses. * Kurt Lewin(was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology)

* He described two opposite tendencies of conflict: approach and avoidance. When something attracts us, we want to approach it; when something frightens us, we try to avoid it. * For example: Choosing between two equally desirable academic courses, both of which will advance your career plans but which meet at the same schedule . For example:

* desire for good grades vs. attractions of social activities * moral training vs. the pursuit of social activities
* Eating ice cream and chocolates vs. adding more calories * going to a beautiful movie vs. attending a class and others

4 types of conflict
1. Approach- Approach Conflict/
( Conflicting- Attraction)
2. Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict/
(Attraction- Repulsion)
3. Approach- Avoidance Conflict/
( Conflicting- Avoidance)
4. Double Approach-Avoidance

*Approach- Approach Conflict
* Choosing between the best, two or more desirable options. * Example:
– Do I want pepperoni or cheese pizza?
– Which movie do I want to see?
*Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict
* Choosing between two or more undesirable options.

* Example:
– Would I rather be late to school and get a detention, or skip school and get behind in my classes?
– Should I break up with my boyfriend and be alone or stay with him and put up with his cheating and lying? *Approach- Avoidance Conflict
* A choice involving a situation with both good and bad situations. Example:
– Should I course out my teacher, which will make me feel better, but will probably get me suspended?
– Should I go to the scary movie with my friends? It would be fun, but then, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

*Double Approach-Avoidance
* A choice between alternatives, both of which have good and bad parts. Example:
– Should I major in law?(lots of school, lots of studying, but will make lots of money) or social work(less school, helping people, rewarding but make a lot less money).
– Should I eat pizza?(tastes great but fattening) or salad(“BORING”, but healthy and low calories). Stress (cortez)
* Physical reactions to demands or changes in the environment. * Can result from conflict, frustration and anxiety.
* Can be positive or negative.

Positive stress
* Leads to something desirable.
– job promotion
– new baby
– first date
* It is called eustress – it is good because it keeps us moving towards a goal. Negative/ Bad Stress
* Is overwhelming, block goals or that causes problems.
– being fired from a job
– loss of a family member
– bankruptcy
* It is called distress

What is Frustration?
Frustration
* It is the emotional state or condition that results when a goal, work, family or personnel is thwarted or blocked. * A process that blocks or hinders us from reaching our goals. * Many things lead to frustration:

* delays
* lack of resources
* losses
* failure
* discrimination
For example:
When an individual believes, he/she cannot achieve a goal, he/she may experience frustration.
People talking while you are trying to take a rest.

Frustration and Human Complexity (cortez)
* The motives that activate and direct behavior do not arise and achieve satisfaction in an orderly or simple manner. * Different motives occur at the same time and new motives continually arise as old ones are satisfied. * Delays of gratification or and even complete lack of gratification are necessary consequences of the very fact that we are complex and multi- motivated organisms. Frustration and Environmental Contingencies (Lerit)

* Complete satisfaction of all motives is impossible because motivational goals can only be achieved in accordance with what is available in the environment. * The environment does not afford all incentives that our various motives require. Example conditions:

* Food may not be available to satisfy hunger.
* One may not have the money to purchase what he wants or needs. * One’s friends may not provide the attention and admiration that required to satisfy his desires for status, love and so on.

Sources of frustration (Lerit)
Human frustrations stems from three sources:
* Inability to overcome obstacles in the physical environment. * Inability to overcome restrictions imposed by other people. * Inability to satisfy conflicting motives or to obtain incompatible goals. *Physical Environment (lerit)

* It is always the focus of some frustrations, is of primary importance during infancy and early childhood. * In adulthood, it is not usually a major source of frustration except for the physically or economically handicapped or in times of natural disasters.

Examples:
* Disease
* Debility
* Slum overcrowding
* Floods
* Fires
* Accidents and storms
For example: A drought or typhoon can frustrate a farmers because it adversely affect their harvest.

*Social Environment (lerit)
* it presents such obstacles as restrictions imposed by other people and the customs and laws of the community. * For example: Children are thwarted by parental denial, disapproval and postponement.

*Organism(itself) (Lerit)
* within individuals themselves are deficiencies which can cause frustration. Some people are handicapped by disease, such as, blindness, deafness or paralysis that can limit their activities.

For example: A blind man dreams to travel around the world to see different places.

Types of Reactions to Frustration (to be reported by Myra)
* The reactions to frustration are also known as Defense Mechanisms. These defense mechanisms are so called as they try to defend individuals from the psychological effects of a blocked goal. Example:

“When some employees get frustrated, they become tensed and irritable. They experience an uneasy feeling in their stomach and also show various other reactions of frustration.” * Freud proposed that defense mechanisms are entirely unconscious, but not all psychologists agree. * Often we realize that we are pushing something out of our memory or are otherwise deceiving ourselves.

Various types of reactions to frustration (Myra)
* Withdrawal – ex. Behaviors such as asking for a transfer or quitting a job. * Fixation – ex. An individual blames others and superiors for his problems, without knowing complete facts. * Aggression – ex. Acting in a threatening manner.

* Regression – ex. Behaving in an immature and childish manner and may self-pity (to feel sorry for oneself). * Physical Disorder – ex. Physical ailments such as fever, upset stomach, vomiting, etc. * Apathy – ex. Becoming irresponsive and disinterested in the job and his co-workers.

Reactions to frustrations involve three fairly distinct sequences: (Myra) * Source
* Drive
* Coping behavior

Source- the environmental and personal circumstances that produce frustration. External frustrations – based on conditions outside of the individual that impede progress towards a goal Based on delays, failure, rejection, loss, others blocking your motives Example:

A young man who wants to pursue college education does not have financial means. Due to shortage of as, an executive is not able to use his car to get to his office. Personal frustrations – based on personal characteristics. * Caused by personal limitations and disabilities which thwart an individual’s aspirations. Example:

A person with a small income becomes frustrated if he very much wants to lead an expensive lifestyle.

* Drive- the internal conditions that accompany frustration and that serve to activate and direct behavior. * Coping behavior- the instrumental responses that are generated by drive and shaped into habits by reinforcements. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 major categories of coping behavior
I. WITHDRAWAL REACTION
1. fantasy
2. Nomadism
3. Repression
4. Regression
5. Reaction formation
II. AGGRESSIVE REACTIONS
1. displaced aggression
2. Scapegoating
3. Free- floating anger
4. Suicide
5. projections
III. COMPROMISE REACTION
1. subliminal and substitution
2. Compensation
3. Rationalization
a.) Sour- grape attitude
b.) Sweet- lemon attitude
4. Undoing

Withdrawal Reaction ( sasagipin q n lng tong report na to.. kay Salazar and galpo sana,. Aq n lng mgrereport.) * It is a frequent responses to frustration.
* Faced with a threatening obstacle or with painful or dangerous situations. * Simple individual may simply retreat from the sources of frustration. * Withdrawal cannot be reinforced by satisfaction of he particular motives that are being thwarted.

1. Fantasy/ Daydreaming
Is a wishfulfilling daydreaming, the use of imaginative thought as an escape from boredom. It provides relief from frustrations
2 kind of daydreams:
* Conquering hero mechanism
– the person pictures himself in his daydream as the hero who does great deeds or achieves the things . * Suffering hero mechanism
– the person pictures himself as an underdog .
Ex. of suffering hero mechanism
The boy who is dissatisfied with his home life may imaging himself not as a big hero but as a delinquent who steals, gets caught and is put in jail, which makes his parents and relatives feel sorry for him.

2. Nomadism
It is a kind of withdrawal mechanism in which an individual continually wanders from place to place or situation in his desires to escape a frustrating condition. This mechanism may take the form of frequent change of jobs or even change of marital partners. Example:

“A man who experienced an unhappy childhood may be basically unhappy. Hence, he may carry over such basic feelings of unhappiness into whatever activities he engages in later. “
“Such a person may never be satisfied with any kind of job or even marital partner, and thus may experience frequent change of jobs or spouses.”

3. Repression
Is motivated forgetting.
In effect it consists of a failure to recognize or remember some threatening, painful or guilt provoking aspect of one’s experience. Ex.
A person who has certain feelings of guilt about something he has done may repress his memory about the act.

4. Regression
Is an attempt to deal with difficult frustration by reverting to some earlier , once effective from of coping behavior. The essential characteristics of regression is it’s infantile/ or childish quality. 5. Reaction Formation

The individual does the direct opposite of what he is feeling. At times the conscious attitudes which develop or highly exaggerated, excessive, extreme and intolerant.

AGGRESSIVE REACTIONS
* Is a harmful or damaging attack upon other people or things . * Aggression can occur in several different forms
-it can be expressed verbally
– It can involve a direct attack upon another upon others or an indirect attack upon another person’s character or possessions.

1. Displaced Aggression
* Defense mechanism where in the individual’s pent-up emotional tensions are redirected toward ideas persons, or objects other than the primary source of the frustration. * This mechanisms is called displacement which may take the form of scapegoating, free- floating anger, and suicide. 2. Scapegoating

3. Hostility is expressed against a person or an object other than the original source of frustration. Ex.
A student who fails in a subject may express his anger towards his companions at home. 3. Free- Floating Anger
* Hostility becomes generalized so that the hostility is directed at almost anything or anybody. Ex.
Young people with a great deal of resentment towards their status in life
commit vandalism, destroying public property without apparent reasons. 4. Suicide
Hostility is directed towards oneself.
The individual kills himself because of some frustrating situations. Precipitatory actors that result in suicidal attempts are excessive shame and guilt, severe depression, and feelings of helplessness. Ex.

A wife who feels depressed and helpless upon learning of her husband’s extramarital affairs may turn her anger towards herself and attempt to commit suicide. 5. Projection]
Is a defense mechanism wherein the individual attributes his unacceptable thoughts or desires to others. Ex.
A person who harbors feelings of envy and hatred towards a person he is supposed to obey and respect, may be unable to admit these emotions to himself. So he convinces himself that it is the other person who hates him. Special types of defense mechanisms

* Identification- the individual enhances his feelings of importance by imitating or acquiring the characteristics of a person whom he desires. Ex.
An adolescent who has a strong desire to be popular may identify with one of the well-known personalities in the entertainment field.

* Introjection – a type of identification when a person acquires or imitates the characteristics of a person whom he fears.
-Is adopted to reduce a the threat posed by another person.

Compromise Reactions
* Compromise reactions to frustration involve the acceptance of a substitute goal for one that is desired. * The person partially given in to he frustrating obstacle but does not give up completely his original goals. 1. Sublimation and Substitution

Sublimation- an adjustment mechanism by which unconscious and unacceptable desires are directed into activities that have strong social approval. The unacceptable desires are usually sexual in nature which maybe sublimated
through creative efforts as in music, arts, an literature.

OTHER VENUES FOR SUBLIMATION:
Sports, teaching, social work, and religious life.

* Substitution- when the frustrated impulses are expressed directly with no change in the conscious quality of the desire. Ex.
Frustrated sexual urges, may be substituted by watching or reading phonographic materials or telling dirty jokes.

2. Compensation
Is a mechanism of adjustment wherein a person attempts to disguise the presence of a weak or undesirable trait by emphasizing a desirable one to reduce a feeling of inferiority. Compensation may direct or indirect.

Direct Compensation
* Refers to the generation of an intense desire to succeed in an area where one has experienced failure or inferiority. Ex.
A girl who is physically unattractive may attempt to make- up for it by developing a charming manner and learning to be an interesting conversationalist.

Indirect Compensation
* Refers to efforts to succeed in one field after having failed in another . Ex.
A boy who cannot join athletic activities because of a physical defect may compensate for his defect by excelling in scholarly pursuits. 3. Rationalization
* Is a defense mechanism in which plausible but false reasons are devised by the individual to explain and justify his behavior that is deemed to result in loss of self- esteem or social approval. 2 forms of rationalization

* Sour- grapes mechanism or attitude
* Sweet- lemon mechanism or attitude

Sour- grapes mechanism- When one cannot reach a particular goal or incentive, he becomes frustrated and leaves consoling himself in the meanwhile that the goal is not good anyway. Ex.
A man who has been turned- down by a girl may say that the girl who turned him down was not really his type.

* Sweet- lemon mechanism- Is the attitude of accepting something you really do not want because it’s all that he can have. Ex.
A girl who wants a new dress very much but not cannot afford to buy one, convinces herself that her old dresses or prettier than those being sold in the stores. 4. Undoing
* Is a form of defense mechanism in which the individual diverts himself of painful feelings by making use of cleansing ritual after doing something which causes him to feel guilty.