dealing w offending behaviour:behaviour modificaiton in custody

Question 1

what is behaviour modification in custody

Answer 1

-approach from behaviourist which bases princples of operant conditoning
-undesirbale behaviours are replaced w desirbale ones thru positive/negative reinforcement

Question 2

what is the behvaiour princple

Answer 2

-if behvaiour is learnt it should be possible to unlearn it w the same princples

Question 3

what is the behvaiour modification programme

Answer 3

-reinforce obedient behvaiour while punishing disobedience in hope it dies out
-done by token systems in prison

Question 4

what are token economy systems

Answer 4

-managed by prison staff to modify behaviour
-OPERANT CONDITIONING = reinforce the desirable behaviours and avoid conflict
-e.g rewarded for being quiet in cells

Question 5

how do the tokens themseleves work

Answer 5

-the token itself isnt a reward’-the token is exhanged for something of desire e.g phone call/ extra food

Question 6

what are the diff type of reinforcers in the system

Answer 6

PRIMARY reinforces= rewards
SECONDARY reinforcers = tokens (derives from its value as associaiton w the reward)

Question 7

why is important about this system

Answer 7

-b ehaviours rewards made clear to prisoners in advance
-disobedience means rewards/ tokens are removed(punishment)

Question 8

what are 3 steps to desigining and using the token system

Answer 8

-operationalise target behvaiours, scoring system, train staff

Question 9

how are target behaviours operationalised

Answer 9

-broken down into componenets
-e.g target being improving intercations with inmates
-may be broken down into not touching others when going past them, speaking nicely.

Question 10

how should operationalised behaviours look

Answer 10

-objective and measurable

Question 11

what is the scoring system

Answer 11

-should be made aware of how much each behaviour is ‘worth’
-demanding behaciour may get more rewards
-improved interactions may include ‘working coperatively in grp tasks’ and ‘ not swearing’

Question 12

how may alternative token systems work

Answer 12

-may award directly or through points converted to tokens
-reinforcemnts should outnumber punishments by a ratio of 4:1

Question 13

how should staff be trained

Answer 13

-involve sveral hrs of trianing for weeks
-aim to standardise procedures so staff reward in the same way
-staff need to record awareded token so progress of prisosners assesed.

Question 14

whats the conjugal visit

Answer 14

-scheduleded visit where inmmate permitted to spend several hrs or days in priavte w a visiitor normal spouse
-may engage in sex
-illegal in UK
-legal in 6 states in USA
-may decrease sexual and physical vio in prisons

Question 15

what did cohen and filipczk find of the long term effects of the system

Answer 15

-token economy presented more desirbale behaviours then control grp
-and less likely to have re offedned
-however after 3 yrs eates of re offence was back to national stats

Question 16

what do cohens and F’s findings suggest

Answer 16

-theres delayed recidivism
-benefits of beh modification may not generlaise beyond a prsion setting bc you cant get token system outside

Question 17

strenghts of this theory

Answer 17

(research support)
Hobbs and Holt (1976) observed a
significant difference is positive behaviour compared to the
non-token economy group.
Field et al (2004) found that a token economy system used with
young people with behavioural problems was generally effective,
although there were still some that did not respond.
Later they were placed on a special programme where the rewards
were more immediate and more frequent and the results were
more positive.
Suggests that token economy systems do work.

(easy to implement)
Unlike for other treatments e.g. anger management, behaviour
modification does not require specialist professionals. It is also
cost-effective and easy to follow This suggests that behaviour modification techniques can be
established in most prisons and accessed by most prisoners.

Question 18

weaknesses of this theory

Answer 18

(counterpoint to research support)
Bassett and Blanchard (1977) found that any benefits were lost
if staff applied the techniques inconsistently.
This was due to factors such as lack of training or high staff turnover
This suggests that behaviour modification schemes must ensure full and consistent staff participation if they are to work.

(little rehab value)
May not affect long-term behaviour.
Token economies, according to Blackburn (1993), “have little rehabilitative value” – any
positive changes may quickly be lost when offenders are released. Progress is unlikely to be
assured upon release since law-abiding behaviour is not rewarded/reinforced on the outside.
Rewards the offender receives from breaking the law (such as group status) may be more
powerful than abiding by the token economy.
Cognitive based treatments may be more effective likely to lead to a permanent change as
they require the offenders to understand the cause of their offending and to take
responsibility for their own rehabilitation.
Offenders can easily play along with token economy systems in order to access rewards with
little change in their character.
This may explain why once the token economy is discontinued, an offender may regress back
to their former behaviour.

Question 19

what are the ethical issues with this theory

Answer 19

The conditions of behaviour modification are regarded as manipulative and dehumanising
by some e.g. Moya and Achtenburg (1974).
Offenders are not given the option over whether they participate in the token economy.
Withdrawal of privileges such as exercise or phone calls to loved ones may also be ethically
questionable.
This questions the morality and fairness of using token economy systems.