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Timmy Paper #2

Kasi West

Utah Valley University

PSY-3300 Spring 2023

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The theory of motivation that I would use for Timmy’s situation would be the Social

Constructionist Approach. This approach focuses on how the environment of culture and the

biological symptoms of emotions come together and set forth how we express our emotions.

Timmy witnesses his parents with emotional outbursts when they are frustrated and sets forth an

example for how Timmy should also express frustration. Timmy gets frustrated with his video

games and mimics his environment by having emotional outbursts of anger by throwing his

controller.

Social Constructivist Approach on Anger

This theory’s approach to anger is that it is not a primitive response to frustration, but a

learned behavior from the culture and social environment in which we are influenced by. James

Averill discuses how only humans show anger in response to emotion and that it takes a fair

amount of cognitive and social sophistication in order to display anger. He argues that anger has

been introduced as a serviceable emotion based on how culture has influenced the emotional

syndromes towards interpersonal regulation of behavior. (Cornelius, 1996)

Emotional Syndromes

Timmy is experiencing frustration when the power surged in his home while he was

playing one of his video games, interrupting his play along with not allowing Timmy to save his

progress. The impulse to display anger is instigated by his frustration and results in aggression.

Timmy throwing his controller and becoming inconsolably agitated serves Timmy from his

appraisal of the situation. The emotion of anger is also being felt at school when Timmy is

frustrated and results in him struggling with peers and teachers. This emotion has been functional

for Timmy within the sociocultural system that he is in. It is not, however, a primal emotion
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according to Averill. (Cornelius, 1996) Therefore, it can be altered and improved to enhance the

moral order of the community.

Anger versus Aggression

Averill believes that anger and aggression are two different things. Anger does not

always result in aggression and aggression is not necessarily stemmed from anger. Also, anger is

an emotional syndrome and aggression is an action to the syndrome. However, most people

confuse the two and believe that they are a paired response. Thus, Timmy has learned that when

he is angry, aggression follows. These have become the social norm for Timmy within his

culture and his environment with his parents. Timmy also is an only child and does not spend

time with friends or family outside of his home. This lack of exposure to alternative ways to cope

with frustration, gives Timmy the impression that this is the response to an event that interrupts

his aims. (Cornelius, 1996)

Anger has also been a mask for other emotions. Emotions such as fear and sadness can

sometimes manifest as anger in some cultures. The culture that Timmy is in is possibly

presenting that anger and aggression are masculine qualities and are appropriate to display when

he feels uncomfortable emotions that are primal emotions. This is prevalent at dinner when

Timmy appears to be anxious, inattentive, or sad. Emotions such as these can be a cue that

instigates anger in order to avoid or sum the emotion that is actually being felt.

To counsel Timmy and his parents, the first approach could be to give Timmy other ways

to express his frustration. Alternatives such as communicating his emotion and recognizing when

he is getting upset, to take a break and regulate the anger that is rising within him. When Timmy

can have a better understanding of his frustration, he would have the opportunity to use these

skills in other areas of his life, such as in school and with friends. Communicating the emotions
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that he is feeling can have a major influence on how Timmy expresses his emotions. Giving

Timmy more exposure to other environments may also help Timmy and his parents learn how to

cope with intense emotions such as anger and frustration, and to experience such emotions

without displaying aggression. Timmy’s parents could also use some tools to help them to

resolve their frustrations in more constructive ways and give Timmy a different example at home

on better ways to deal with anger. These tools are similar to Timmy’s new coping strategies in

that communicating and recognizing the actual emotion being felt, as opposed to anger, could

impact the emotional outbursts that are the current response or action of their frustrations,

anxieties, sadness, or fear.

In conclusion, Timmy and his parents have used the expression of anger and the action of

aggression as a functional tool within their interpersonal behaviors. This expression has been

influenced by the environment and social norms within the culture and within the household. In

order to improve their behavior, an evaluation of the purpose anger and aggression actually

serves and how an alternative response could become more beneficial to both Timmy and his

parents. Timmy could benefit in his school and social life, and his parents in their relationship

with each other and with their son. An improvement in their identification and expression of

emotion is also more aligned with the community and what is appropriate within the community

they reside in. Overall, the aggression and anger in Timmy’s situation appears to be in line with

the Social Constructionist Approach to Anger and James Averill’s theories of emotional

syndromes.
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References

Cornelius, R. R. (1996). The Science of Emotion: Research and Tradition in the Psychology of

Emotions. Pearson.