ABSTRACT
The principle that the strongest instigation is to aggression against the agent perceived to be the source of the frustration finds a social application in war propaganda. Superficially puzzling instances of behavior in which a tremendous amount of aggression suddenly explodes without apparent cause are often explicable on the basis of displaced aggression. Tentative evidence for assuming some form of algebraic summation of the two antagonistic factors called instigation and inhibition may be obtained from the same questionnaire study of Doob and Sears. Underlying the statement that anticipation of punishment decreases the degree to which any aggressive act is expressed is the assumption that the strength of instigation to the aggression is held constant.
