Elena received an unexpectedly low grade on her coursework despite spending weeks preparing. She felt intense frustration and anger towards her teacher, but was unable to safely express these feelings at school.
Upon returning home, she went to her room and spent 15 minutes playing an action-heavy, combat-based video game, aggressively defeating virtual opponents. Afterwards, she felt significantly calmer and her anger had dissipated.
Using your knowledge of the psychodynamic explanation of aggression, explain how catharsis accounts for Elena's change in state.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Bowlby's work on attachment, Ainsworth and the Strange Situation, Research into deprivation, Research into privation, Research into day care, Cross-cultural research into attachment, Autism, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
