agression Flashcards
what are the two explanations of institutional aggression
-importation model (dispositional)
-deprivation model (situational)
what is the dispositional explanation of institutional aggression
the importation model
-suggests that aggression is a result of the individuals characteristics that they bring into the prison
-all prisoners have there own social histories and traits that influence behaviour
-e.g beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and learning experiences along with personal characteristics such as race, gender, class
How does the importation model suggest anger occurs in institutional settings
-suggests prisoners imports characteristics and traits as a way to negotiate through the unfamiliar and frightening environment of prisons
-they use aggression as a way to establish power, status and access to resources
-suggests that those predisposed to using violence outside of prisons would be likely to do so in any setting
-not the situation but the personal characterises
what research has been done into the importation model
DeLisi
procedure- studied 813 juvenile delinquents in institutions in california
group 1: had many negative dispositional features such as childhood trauma, anger, substance abuse and violent behaviour
control: no negative features
Findings
-the ‘negative’ inmates are more likely to engage in suicidal activity, sexual misconduct and physical aggression
-supports the idea that those already predisposed to these characteristics were more likely to use them again
what is the situational expiation into institutional aggression
Deprivation model suggests aggression is due to the stress created by the prison environment
-the harsh conditions of prisons create a stressful environment and prisoners may turn to aggression as a way to cope
how does the deprivation model suggest aggression occurs in institutional setting ? what factors contribute to this ?
-unpredictable regime in prisons
-prisons often use ‘lock ups’ as a way to control behaviour
-aggression often becomes an adaptive solution
Psychological factors: deprived from freedom, independence, intimacy
Physical factors: material good can increase aggressive competition
Describe and explain research into the deprivation model
Steiner: investigated factors predicting aggression in line with the deprivation modelling 512 prisoners
Results:
inmate-on-inmate aggression was higher when:
-higher proportion of female staff (could create ‘competition’ for attention
-overcrowding (inmates likely to have less freedom as a way of controlling)
-more inmates in protective history (aggression is pre existing within the prison)
These are prison-level factors that reliably predicted aggressive behaviour
evaluate a strength of the dispositional explanation for institutional aggression
Supporting evidence : Poole
-found in 4 institutions, pre-institutional violence was the best predictor of aggression regardless of features of the prison
-supports importation model as it suggests aggression is brought into the prison by offenders whom have existing aggression
evaluate a limitation of of the dispositional expiation of institutional aggression
-ignores situational factors
-lack of freedom, choice, family could lead to frustration
-ignores factors such as racism that could act as a trigger
-aggression could be shown as an attempt to ward off others in order to feel secure
-these triggers for aggression should be considered, those who were aggressive originally may be more likely react to such factors
evaluate a strength of the situational explanation for institutional aggression
Supporting evidence : McCorkle
-studied 371 Us prisoners and found situational factors such as overcrowding, lack of privacy and meaningful activity all had an influence on inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults
Franklin:
-found relationship between age of inmate and crowding
-meta-analysis found aggressive behaviour increased with crowding in younger inmates compared to older inmates
-older inmates are more likely to have wider experiences and have developed better coping mechanisms
-highlights effect of situational and dispositional factors interacting
evaluate the real life applications of research into institutional aggression
David Wilson has shown changes to noisy, over crowded and overheated environments can significantly decrease violent behaviour.
Demonstrated at HMP Woodhill, assaults on inmates and staff was pretty much eradicated
-provides powerful support for situational variables
Real life applications in relation to dispositional factors:
-the more aggressive inmates could be offered therapy or counselling in an attempt to lessen the effects of predisposed violence
what is cognitive priming and what is its role in aggression
Repeated experience of aggressive media and violent images can provide a schema/’script’ about how violent situations may play out
-its used to define situations and to guide behaviour
-violent scripts are accessible due to TV and video games
-the process is mostly automatic and can unconsciously guide behaviour when triggered
explain evidence to support cognitive priming
fMRI used to compare brain activity in 8 kids watching either violent or non-violent programmes
-violent programme : right hemisphere was activated -regulates emotion, arousal and attention, is also responsible for storing episodic memory
-implys scripts are stored for later use
What is the role of desensitisation in aggression
when repeatedly watching violent media results in a decrease in physiological effects that would usually be expected when witnessing violence/aggression
-usually experience symptoms associated with the sympathetic nervous system such as increased heart rate and blood pressure (fight or flight)
-they become habituated to its effect so an aversive stimulus has lesser effects
-diminished response
explain research done into the role of desensitisation
Weisz and Earls
-showed some ps a film that contained a graphic rape scene and some ps a non violent film
results:
-showed grater acceptance to rape myths after watching a mock rape trail
-showed less sympathy towards the victim
-were less likely to find the defendant guilty
compared to the viewers of non violent media
-shows the effects of being desensitisation as they were less shocked/effected after watching
how does the media influence aggression
-role of cognitive priming
-role of desensitisation
-role of disinhibition
what is the role of disinhibition in aggression
inhibitions(such as social and psychological restraints) usually prevent aggression as people believe it to be antisocial and harmful
-exposure to aggression through media weakens inhibitions = disinhibited
-alters an individuals social norms
how can aggressive media lead to disinhibition
-in the virtual world of computer games individuals will act in a non-typical way as there are no social constraints
-for example displaying exaggerated aggressive behaviour as inhibitions are weakened
-this could be transferred to real life and may incite violence in someone who is otherwise passive
-additionally video games often reward violence as consequences are justified or lessened
describe research done into the role of disinhibition
-Alioto:
-found ps who saw a film depicting violence as justified gave more electric shocks for a prolonged period of time to a confederate
-suggests violent media may disinhibit aggression when presented as justified
-justified violence is more likely to be seen as sociably acceptable
-increases validity as demonstrates the removal of social constraints and aggressive behaviour
what is the neural influence in aggression
what is it made up of, how does it influence
the limbic system
-a network of subcortical structures including the hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus and the amygdala
-this area is associated with emotional behavior
what is the amygdala associated with within the limbic system
-plays a key role in how organisms assess and respond to threats (fight or flight responce)
-reactivity is believed to be a good predictor of aggressive behaviour
