dealing with offednign behaviour - behaviour modification in custody Flashcards
behaviourist principles
all human behaviour is learned
it should be possible to encourage the uplearning of behaviour
behaviour modification programmes are designed with the aim of reinforcing obedient behaviour in offenders
whisky punishing disobedience
token economy
behaviour modification programmes such a. token economies
based on operant conditioning
desirable behaviour such as following prison riles the prisoners would be given a token each time they perform a desirable behaviour
it would be emphasised that non-compliance would result in the tokens being withheld or removed
tokens are not rewarding but service their value from the associated with a reward such as secondary reinforcers
tokens may be exchanged for time in the gym or extra food
designing and using a token economy
operationalise target behaviours
a target behaviour is operationalised by breaking it down into component parts
target behaviour may be improved interaction with other prison inmates
may bre broken down into not touching another prisoner or speaking politely to others
units of behaviour should be objective and measurable and agreed with prion staff and inmates in advance
scoring system
staff and prisoners should also be made aware of the scoring system and how much each particular behaviour is worth
behaviours are herirachal in the sense that some are regarded as more demanding than other so some receive greater rewards
train staff
important that prison staf are given full training in order to implement the token economy system successfully
training amy involve several hours for a number of weeks
aim is to standardise the procedures so that all prisoner staff are rewarding the same behaviours in the same way
staff much also record when they have awarded tokens so the progress of indivuals prisoners can be assssd
strength
research support
Hobbs and Holt
introduced a token economy programme with groups of young offenders across three behavioural units
and a control
observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to the non token econom
suggest token economies do work
strength
easy to implement
relatively straightforward to set up in custody
appeal of behaviour modification rests largely upon the ease with which it can be administered
no need for a specialist professional to be involved
token economy systems can be designed and implemented in any institution
also cost effective and easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established
suggestes that behaviour modification techniques can be established in most portions and accessed by most prisoners
limitation
little rehabilitative value
may not affect ling term behaviour
Blackburn
behaviour modification had little rehabilitative value and any positive changes to behavir that may occur whilst an offender is in prison may be quickly lost when they are released
most cognitive based treatments such as anger management may have more permentant behavioural change
such treatments require the offender to understand the cause of their offending anf take responsibity for their own rehabilitation
in contrast offender can easily play along with the token economy system in order to access the rewards
produces little change in their overall character
may explain why once the token economy is discontinued an offfned may quickly regret back to their former behaviour
