DEALING WITH OFFENDER BEHAVIOUR: ANGER MANAGEMENT AO1 & AO3

Question 1

Anger Management (Dealing with Offending Behaviour)

Answer 1

• is used in prisons to help identify triggers and allow offenders to deal with the situation in a positive and calm manner.
• AM aims to help people become aware of when they make negative interpretations, and of behavioural patterns which reinforce distorted thinking.

Question 2

Cognitive preparation

Answer 2

• offender reflects on past experiences where they lost control, identifying triggers of anger.
• Therapist helps redefine situations perceived as confrontational, breaks irrational thinking.

Question 3

Skill acquisition

Answer 3

• learning techniques to reduce anger in provoking situations and respond more rationally e.g. positive self-talk, meditation, behavioural assertiveness training.

Question 4

Application practice

Answer 4

• practice learned skills in role play scenarios. Requires commitment from offender and bravery from therapist and then followed by positive reinforcement.

Question 5

One limitation of AM is that it’s not a realistic treatment.

Answer 5

• For example, it relies heavily on artificial role play which may not reflect all the possible triggers that could be present in a real life situation.
• In real life there are different variables that impact a person’s behaviour.
• This means it does not prepare them to react in an appropriate manner as it does not accurately represent real life instances.
• This is a disadvantage as it has limited usefulness in real life

Question 6

One limitation of AM is that there is opposing research.

Answer 6

• For example, Loza and Loza-Fanous used a range of psychometric measures and found no real difference in anger levels of violent and non-violent offenders.
• The theory assumes there’s a link between anger and violence.
• This means there is insufficient
  evidence and so we are unaware if crime is caused by anger.
• This is a disadvantage as it decreases the validity of the theory

Question 7

One limitation of AM is that it removes accountability from the individual.

Answer 7

• For example, AM programmes may be misinterpreted as they could provide offenders with a justification for their behaviour.
• This means it’s incompatible with the CJS which is based on responsibility of actions, and so provides criminals with an excuse to commit crime.
• Furthermore, it’s not an appropriate treatment for all types of offending behaviour as not all offending behaviour is motivated by anger
• e.g fraud meaning the treatment has limited application

Question 8

One limitation of AM is that it requires training and is time consuming.

Answer 8

• For example, AM programmes require highly trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders.
• This leads to many prisons not having enough resources and therefore cannot provide adequate treatment.
• Additionally, the AM programme requires the individual’s cooperation which may be difficult to obtain with criminals meaning time and money is wasted.
• Furthermore, TES may be a better solution as prisons don’t have to invest time/money into treating prisoners- as no specialists required to carry it out and so it’s cheaper