Anger Management Flashcards
What is Anger Management? (Principles)
Therapeutic programme (type of CBT) that helps identify signs that trigger anger and ways to help cope with it. Can be offered in prisons to encourage self awareness and facilitate rehab.
What are the 3 steps involved?
- cognitive preparations: identify trigger. Reflect on past experience.
- skill acquisition: techniques to deal with anger-provoking situations (control emotions) (encourage positive self talk for calming down, meditation, breathing techniques)
- application practice: role play in environment
AO1 study: Keen et al. (2000)
- studied young offenders (17-21 age)
- 8 two-hour session of anger management
- final outcomes positive, suggested they were more aware of anger issues and able to exert control over it
AO3: Blackburn: recidivism
Says little evidence on lower recidivism rates
Method is too reliant on artificial setting during role play
So doesn’t reflect all possible triggers in real life situations
AO3: expensive and requires commitment
Need trained professionals and cooperative prisoners/victims
AO3: Eclectic approach
Works on different levels and is holistic
Cognitive preparation (in stage 1)
Behavioural perspective (in stage 2)
Social approach (in stage 3)
Multidisciplinary approach acknowledges complexity of offending and looks at complex psychological and social activity in attempts to address it
AO3: Comparing with Behavioural modification
Attempts to fix underlying cognitive cause, unlike behavioural modification which only looks at superficial behaviour
AO3: Loza and Loza (1999)
Theory assumes causal link between anger and offending
But correlation not always causation
Using psychometric measures, found that no difference in levels of anger between violent and non-violent criminals
So anger management could be misguided as they could provide offenders with a justification for their behaviour
(Some crimes such as fraud, are not motivated by anger)
