Aggression L10 Institutional Aggression in Prisons: Situational Explanations Flashcards
What is the Situational Explanation for Aggression?
- Social Psychologists argue that the social environment in the prison can cause aggression
- Being in crowded conditions cause aggression and prisons by nature are stressful environments
Who put forward the Deprivation Model, and what are the 5 things prisoners are deprived of?
Skyes
- Deprivation of Liberty
- Deprivation of Autonomy
- Deprivation of Goods
- Deprivation of Heterosexual Relationships
- Deprivation of Security
Deprivation of Liberty
Prisoners deprived of their freedom and often have to obtain permission to eat, sleep, shower etc
Deprivation of Autonomy
Prisoners have no power and few choices, leading to helplessness, frustration and aggression
Deprivation of Goods
Access to things we take for granted, e.g smartphones, leading to frustration therefore aggression
Deprivation of Heterosexual Relationships
Men feel emasculated and greater opportunities for homosexual behaviour can lead to anxiety amongst prisoners
Deprivation of Security
Prisoners live in fear of aggression from other inmates, this heightened sense of threat can lead to aggressive responses as defence
What other circumstances do psychologists argue have an effect on prisoner behaviour?
Overcrowding
Hot and Noisy - pre-dispose inmates to aggressive behaviour, creates negative emotions
Job Burnout - Experience of prison staff of being psychologically worn out and exhausted from a job
What are Strengths of Situational Explanations? (2)
- Overcrowding
- Practical Application
Practical Application (+)
- Set up two units in HMS Woodhill where the overcrowding was reduced, music was introduced to reduce noisy conditions and the temperature was controlled
- These conditions acted as a successful way of lowering levels of aggression
Overcrowding (+)
- Found overcrowding in prisons is not just the cause of ill health and general misconduct, but also aggression and violence.
What are Weaknesses of Situational Experiences? (2)
- Low Security and High Security Prisons
- Little link between overcrowding and aggression
Little link between overcrowding and aggression (-)
- Investigated aggression in 371 state prisons in the US and found little evidence to support link between violence and overcrowding
- He argues stress is experienced by many individuals in prison, but only some resort to aggression
- Assumption that stress and frustration always leads to aggression is wrong
Low Security and High Security Prisons (-)
- Randomly allocated 561 male inmates to either a low security or a high security prison
- Inmates were matched on criminal history and predisposition to aggression
- Found individuals were likely to act aggressively regardless of the condition, 33% in low security and 36% in high security
- Low Sec has lower stress so it should lead to less aggression, but its dependant on the individual, dispositional exp better