DEALING WITH OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR: ANGER MANAGEMENT Flashcards
what assumptions is anger management based upon?
This is based upon the assumption that cognitive factors trigger the emotional arousal that precedes aggressive acts.
we can use the ABC model to understand this.
what is anger management?
a cognitive therapy that helps the offender control their feelings of anger
why was anger management designed?
Many crimes have the emotion anger as their root, so anger management is designed to help alleviate these feelings to prevent criminal acts. This links to CBT which aims to change the way you think and the resultant behaviours.
what are the 3 stages of anger management?
cognitive preparation
skill acquisition
application practice
what is cognitive preparation?
When offenders reflect on past experiences and what causes them anger
what is skill acquisition?
When offenders learn techniques to deal with anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively. E.g. positive self-talk and methods of relaxation.
what is application practice?
Practice skills through role play conducted under supervision
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that there is supporting evidence. For example, Keen et al. (2000) studied the progress made within young male offenders aged 17-21 who took part in the national anger management package. This meant that they took part in 8 2 hour sessions and they found that the final outcomes were positive. The offenders reported that they had an increased awareness of their anger management difficulties and developed an increased capacity to exercise self control. Therefore, this supports the idea that we can teach offenders to learn how to manage their anger and emotions so they are less likely to commit a crime.
AO3: how is ‘multidisciplinary approach’ a strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is it takes a more multidisciplinary approach. This is because it works on many levels as it includes cognitive, behavioural and social approaches to understanding behaviour. The first phase includes cognitive preparations to help identify the precursors to anger. The second phase applies a behavioural perspective when developing techniques of self-management and the final phase is when a social approach is used where offenders are required to demonstrate what they have learnt within the role play. Therefore, this multidisciplinary approach acknowledges that offending is complex social and psychological activity and any attempt to address it must address these different elements. This therefore contrasts both behavioural modification and token economies as ways of dealing with offending behaviour.
AO3: how is ‘it is better than behaviour modification’ a strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that it is better than behavioural modification. This is because anger management tries to tackle the cause of offending. For example, rather than trying to focus on surface behaviour, it tries to address the thought processes underlying the offender. This enables the offender to learn ways of managing themselves out of the prison setting and gives them transferable skills. Therefore, this means its more likely to lead to long-term change and lower rates of recidivism.
AO3: how is ‘contradictory evidence’ a strength to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour?
one limitation to anger management as a way of dealing with offending behaviour is that there is contradictory evidence. This is because follow up studies of anger management shows this isn’t actually the case. For example, Blackburn (1993) suggested there is very little evidence that anger management reduces recidivism in the long term. This may be because the application phases relies on artificial role play which may not properly reflect all possible triggers in a real life application and it also requires trained personnel so it is more expencive than some other methods. Therefore, anger management has low ecological validity as it cant be fully applied to all real life applications.
