Behaviour modification in custody Flashcards
What is the aim of behaviour modification programmes?
To reinforce obedient behaviours in offenders in offenders whilst punishing disobedience in the hope that the former continues and the latter dies out.
How is token economy system managed?
Managed and co-ordinated by prison staff and is something that all are required to adhere to
What does token economy involve?
Based on operant conditioning
Reinforcing desirable behaviour with a token that can be exchanged for a reward
What are examples of a behaviour that is rewarded from token economy?
keeping cell tidy
avoiding conflict
When does a prisoner become rewarded with a token ?
When they show good behaviour
What are examples of rewards?
Use of gym
Phone call to family
If prisoner is disobedient, what happens to prisoners as a form of punishment?
Their tokens and privileges will be taken away from them
What happens to the desirable behaviour?
Once it is identified, it is broken down into small steps to create a baseline
Who/where does the approach work best?
With children, in school
In institutions eg. mental hospitals and prisons
Which behaviours are reinforced?
Appropriate, desirable behaviours are consistently reinforce
What do token economies show?
The application of operant conditioning principles to adults in institutional settings
What did Hobbs and Holt (1976) do?
They introduced a token economy programme with young delinquents in three behavioural units, 4th as a control.
They observed a significant improvement in positive behaviour as a result of the introduction of the token economy
Who else supports Hobbs and Holt?
Allyon
Found similar effects in an an adults prison
What did Cohen and Fitzpatrick (1971) find?
Showed how a token economy group showed more desirable behaviour in prison but recidivism rates after 3 years returned to those similar to national statistics.
Behaviour modification delays recidivism but may not have an impact long term
What are the strengths of using token economies?
They are easy to implement
Do not require specialist training or expense
What are the weaknesses of using token economies?
All staff must implement them consistently if they are going to work
Effects produced may not primarily be down to token economy - might be because of increased attention, planned system of activities and improved monitoring
They make just fake desirable behaviours in order to get tokens
What ethical issues are raised with token economies?
It can be viewed as manipulative and dehumanising
The scheme is obligatory
Unethical to withhold privileges
How is anger management more effective?
The offender is active in their learning and therefore takes greater responsibility for their rehabilitation
What is the biggest issue with token economies?
It is too easy for the prisoner to fake behaviour and then relapse after release
What did Field et al (2004) find?
That individually tailored programmes are most effective
They examined a token economy used with young people with behavioural difficulties
When later placed on programmes where rewards were more frequent and immediate the results were positive
