Agression

Question 1

What are the two explanations for insitiuational aggression in prisons

Answer 1

Dispositional and situational

Question 2

What model is dispositional

Answer 2

Importation model

Question 3

What is the importation model

Answer 3

Institutional aggression results from characteristics of prisoners. This includes beliefs, values, norms, attitudes and a history or learning experiences as well as gender, race and class.

Question 4

Why do inmates import behaviours

Answer 4

To negotiate their way through the unfamiliar prison environment in which existing inmates use aggression to establish power, status, influence and access to resources.

Question 5

What do prisoner characteristics include according to DeLisi

Answer 5

Several negative dispositional features like childhood trauma, high levels of anger and irritability, histories of substance abuse and violent behaviour

Question 6

What do the consequences of the dispositional explanation to prison aggression include

Answer 6

Suicidal activity.
Sexual misconduct.
They also conducted more physical violence than inmates with fewer negative dispositional features.

Question 7

What is the model in the situational explanations for aggression in prisons

Answer 7

Deprivation model

Question 8

What does the deprivation model suggest

Answer 8

Harsh prison conditions cause stesss for inmates and they cope by resorting to aggressive and often violent behaviour. It is also influenced by the nature of the prison regime.

Question 9

What is an unpredictable regime in a prison

Answer 9

That regularly uses ‘lock ups’ to control behaviour creates frustration, reduced stimulation and reduces access to ‘goods’ even further. This is a recipe for aggression

Question 10

What is aggression in relation to the problem of deprivation

Answer 10

An adaptive solution

Question 11

What do the harsh situational conditions in a prison include

Answer 11

Psychological factors like being deprived of freedom, independence, safety and heterosexual intimacy.

Physical factors like deprivation of material goods and services increases competition amounted inmates to acquire them.

Question 12

Who investigated the factors that predicted inmate aggression

Answer 12

Steiner

Question 13

What did Steiner find

Answer 13

In 512 prisons in the US he found that inmate-on-inmate violence was more common in prisons where there were higher proportions of female staff, Hispanic inmates and inmates in protective custody for their own safety. These are prison-level factors because they are independent of the individual characteristics of prisoners. The factors that reliably predicted aggressive behaviour is in line with the deprivation model

Question 14

Strength of the importation model

Answer 14

Research support. Camp studied male inmates with similar criminal histories and predispositions to aggression - half were placed in low security and the other half in more security. 33% of prisoners in low and 36% in high were involved in agfesssive misconduct within two years. The difference was not statistically significant so the conclusion was that the features of he prison environment are less important in predicting aggression than the behaviour of inmates. Strong evidence for the dispositional explanation.

Question 15

Limitation of the importation model

Answer 15

Alternative explanation may be better. It ignores the roles of prison officials and factors relating to running of prisons. An Administrative control model states that poorly managed prisons are likely to experience the most serious forms of inmate violence. Poor management includes unofficial rules and guard brutality and these factors may be more influential in determining aggression than inmate characteristics.

Question 16

Strength of deprivation model

Answer 16

Research support. Steiner found that cookie was more common in prisons with more female staff, Hispanic inmates, African American inmates and protective custody. These are all prison factors bc they are independent of the prison. In this study factors relatively predicted aggressive behaviour in line with the deprivation model.

Question 17

Limitation of the deprivation model

Answer 17

It predicts that a lack of feeedom and heterosexual contact leads to aggressive behaviour but research into conjugal visits shows there was no link between involvement in these visits and reduced aggressive behaviour. Shows that situational factors do not necessarily affect prison violence and casts doubt on validity of the model

Question 18

What is de-individuation

Answer 18

A psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the identity of the social group when, for example, in a crowd or wearing a uniform. The results may be to free the individual from the constraints of social norms.

Question 19

What did zimbardo argue

Answer 19

Our behaviour is usually constrained by social norms and most forms of aggressive behaviour is discouraged but when we become part of a crowd we lose refrain and may behave in emotional, impulsive and irrational ways

Question 20

Why do we experience less personal guilt at harmful aggression directed at offers

Answer 20

Because responsibility becomes shared throughout the crowd

Question 21

What are several conditions of de-individuation that promotes agression

Answer 21

Darkness
Drugs
Alcohol
Uniform
Disguises
Anonymity

Question 22

Who said that ‘anonymity shaped crowd behaviour’

Answer 22

Dixon

Question 23

Why is anonymity an important factor in de-individuation

Answer 23

we have less fear of retribution in a crowd because we are a small and unidentifiable part of a faceless crowd. Anonymity provides fewer opportunities for others to judge us negatively

Question 24

What two types of self-awareness does anonymity reduce

Answer 24

Private self awareness

Public self awareness

Question 25

Who argues that anonymity reduces self awareness

Answer 25

Rogers and Prentice-Dunn

Question 26

Why is private self awareness reduced in anonymity

Answer 26

Our attention is focused outwardly to the events around us, so we think less about or own beliefs and feelings - we are less self-critical and evaluative

Question 27

What is public self awareness reduced

Answer 27

We realise we are anonymous and our behaviour is less likely to be judged by others - we no longer care how others see us so we become less accountable for our aggressive and destructive actions

Question 28

What is suggestibility

Answer 28

Where you are ready to take on suggestions and influences of others

Question 29

What is contagion

Answer 29

This is where a behaviour or mindset spreads like a contagion disease amongst a crowd

Question 30

Example of de-individuatjon as a force of good as Zimbaddo suggested it could be

Answer 30

200 strangers responded to Facebook invitation for funeral of veteran with no friends or family

Question 31

Strength of anonymity increasing de-individualism

Answer 31

Resech support. Zimbardos guards wore uniform and reflective sunglasses and became violent beyond their own morals and values. Shows that anomity makes because less accountable for their actions and they become more violent. Supports.

Question 32

Limitation of animity creating deinviduation (zimbardo)

Answer 32

Demand characteristics in his study. One inmate said he was playing a character from ‘cool hand luke’ because that’s what he believed he had to act like. ‘Good-participant’ effect.

Question 33

Strength of de-individuaton

Answer 33

Resech support. Mann studied newspaper articles of people who had committed suicide and in 10/21 of the events there was evidence of a ‘baiting crowd’. This was more likely when it was dark and the person was high up with a large crowd

Question 34

Limitation of the de-individuation theory

Answer 34

Androcentric. It may be an adequate explanation of crowd aggression in males but females have been found to be significantly less likely to turn aggressive in the same circumstances so the theory is an incomplete theory of human aggression