Dollard's personal research was focused on the sociological issues of race relations and social class, as well as exploring biographical analyses, suggesting what should be included in biographical materials to permit sound psychological studies, researching various topics related to sociology and culture, and psychoanalysis. According to his research, much can be predicted without knowing anything about the individual by simply having knowledge of the culture into which the person is born. He realized that sociological variables, such as social class and culture, influence a person's particular learning experiences. Unlike most psychoanalysts at the time, Dollard recognized the importance of considering actual human social conditions rather than just abstract psychological principles constructed in a laboratory setting. These ideas and practices led him to write one of his most influential works,
Caste and Class in a Southern Town, the now classic sociological study of race relations in the
Deep South. From 1941 to 1945 he also studied fear and morale in modern warfare, which culminated in several reports, including
Fear and Courage under Battle Conditions (1943) and "Fear in Battle" (
The Infantry Journal, 1944). However, Dollard is likely best known within the psychological community as a member of the distinguished group of young researchers (among whom was
Neal E. Miller) at Yale University in the 1930s who, inspired initially by
Clark L. Hull, sought to combine learning theory and psychoanalysis. The groups' first major publication was
Frustration and Aggression, and has become a classic which is still widely cited in introductory texts. It outlined a view, now referred to as the
frustration-aggression hypothesis, which formed the basis for later developments such as
Leonard Berkowitz's
Aggression: A Social Psychological Analysis (1962) and the animal research on frustration and aggression in the 1960s and 1970s, which caused a controversy between the researchers and animal rights groups. Miller sums up Dollard's contributions to the group as such: "If trying to bring together contributions from sociology, anthropology, psychology, and psychotherapy no longer seems so novel, it is because Dollard and other pioneers had the courage and tenacity to break through traditional barriers". ==Publications==