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Frustration

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Annoyance; Dissatisfaction; Foiling; Hindrance; Interference; Obstruction; Thwarting; Vexation

Definition

Frustration is a key negative emotion that roots in disappointment (Latin frustrā or “in vain”) and can be defined as irritable distress after a wish collided with an unyielding reality.

A Functional Perspective

The experience of brief and intense emotions is an integral component of our everyday conduct. Emotions influence how we make decisions and navigate our worlds, via bodily changes that prompt us to action. Frustration is a key negative emotion that roots in disappointment and can be defined as irritable distress in response to limitation, exclusion, and failure (a state of dissatisfied insecurity). Frustration elicits negative affect to signal that interests and interactions must be adjusted, and emotional tension or “arousal” to instigate defensive or aggressive behavioral responses, such as strive to reduce or eliminate the blocking agent or circumstances.

Frustra...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Bertus F. Jeronimus

  2. Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Odilia M. Laceulle

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Interdisciplinary Center Psychopathology and Emotion regulation (ICPE), University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Bertus F. Jeronimus

  4. Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Odilia M. Laceulle

Authors
  1. Bertus F. Jeronimus
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  2. Odilia M. Laceulle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bertus F. Jeronimus .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Patrizia Velotti

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Jeronimus, B.F., Laceulle, O.M. (2017). Frustration. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_815-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_815-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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