Ethnic and Cultural Reactions to Frustration

Abstract

Numerous case studies in chiucal and social psychology, in sociology, and in anthropolgy have demonstrated that there are considerable differences m the direction, type, and amount of aggression which result from the frustrations of vanous ethnic-cultural groups Until recently, however, there has been no suitable device for obtaining more than casual subjective observations of the differences of reactions Rosenzweig's Picture-Frustration Study is designed to measure the direction of aggression and the type of reaction to frustration, and his technique therefore seems adaptable to an objective study of the racio-cultural differences m reactions to frustration SUBJECTS The Picture-Frustration (or P-F) Study was administered to Northern students in a single Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, senior high school and records obtained on 30 Negro girls, 80 white girls, 57 Negro boys, and 108 white boys The technique was also given to Southem students in a Negro semor high school and a white senior high school m Austin, Texas; and records obtained on 7i Negro girls, 91 white girls, 46 Negro boys, and 146 white boys The average age of the students was 17 5 years No attempt was made to equate the subjects on hasis of comparability of socioeconomic status since two preliminary studies with the P-F revealed little relationship between the socio-economic background of individuals and their aggressive reactions to frustration One of the studies, by McCary and Morgan, involved the testing of high-school seniors with the Sims Score Card for Soao-Economic Status and the P-F Study, and no significant differences were found m the direction of aggression and type of reaction to frustration among the vanous socio-economic levels

Hostility expression among delinquents of minority and majority groups.

“…Evidence to support this position may be adduced from the work of Glueck and Glueck (1950) and Sutherland and Cressy (1955), who show clearly the relationship between poverty and delinquency. On the other hand, Hammer (1953), McCary (1950), and Mussen (1953) have demonstrated that minority group members reveal more manifest aggression than do members of majority groups. The factors of poverty and discrimination have been confounded in these studies, thus failing to clarify the role of each.…”

The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study.

“…An interesting attempt to use the P-F to measure ethnic and cultural differences was performed by McCary (8). Using over 600 northern and southern high school boys and girls both Negro and white, he studied the differences among the groups.…”