dealing with offending behaviour: behaviour modification Flashcards

1
Q

what is behaviour modification?

A

an application of the behaviourist approach to treatment, such as the management of offenders in penal institutions

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2
Q

what is behaviour modification based on?

A
  • principles of operant conditioning
  • according to the behaviourist approach, all human behaviour is learned
  • therefore, it should be possible to encourage the unlearning of behaviour
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3
Q

what is the aim of behaviour modification?

A
  • to reinforce obedient behaviour in offenders
  • to punish disobedience
  • to replace undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through the selective use of positive and / or negative reinforcement
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4
Q

what is a token economy?

A
  • when prisoners are given a token each time they perform a desirable behaviour
  • non-compliance or disobedience may result in the tokens, and the associated priviledges being withheld or removed
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5
Q

why are tokens called secondary reinforcers?

A

tokens are not rewarding in themselves but derive their value from their associated with a reward

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6
Q

what are the primary reinforcers tokens might be exchanged for in prison?

A
  • phone call to a loved one
  • time in the gym or exercise yard
  • extra cigarettes or food

directly rewarding

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7
Q

how are target behaviours operationalised in a token economy?

A
  • breaking down the target behaviour into component parts
  • the units of behaviour should be objective and measurable and agreed with prison staff and inmates in advance
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8
Q

how is a scoring system used in a token economy?

A
  • staff and prisoners should be made aware of the scoring system and how much each particular behaviour is worth
  • behaviours are hierarchal ie. some are regarded as more demanding than others so receive greater rewards
  • some token economy systems may award tokens directly whereas others may award points which are then converted to tokens
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9
Q

what did gendreau et al. (2011) suggest about the scoring system in token economies?

A

recommended that reinforcements should outnumber punishments by a ratio of 4:1

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10
Q

how should staff be fully trained to implement a token economy system successfully?

A
  • training may involve several hours for a number of weeks
  • the aim is to standardise the procedures so that all prison staff are rewarding the same behaviours in the same way
  • staff must also record when they have awarded tokens so the progress of individual prisoners can be assessed
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11
Q

short-term vs. long-term effectiveness of behaviour modification (cohen and filipczak 1971)

A
  • TE group showed more desirable behaviour than a control group in an adult prison
  • however, the researchers noted that the offenders who took part in the programme were less likely to have reoffended 2 years later but after 3 years, rates of recidivism went back to reflecting national statistics
  • this suggests that whilst BM may delay recidivism, it has little overall impact in the longer term
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12
Q

evaluation: research support for behaviour modification (hobbs and holt 1976)

A
  • introduced a TE programme with groups of young offenders across 3 behavioural units and a 4th to act as a control
  • observed a significant difference in positive behaviour compared to the non-token economy group
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13
Q

evaluation: research support for behaviour modification (field et al. 2004)

A
  • TE programme used with young people with behavioural problems were generally effective
  • a number of young people did not respond
  • later, these youths were placed on a special programme where the rewards were more immediate and more frequent and the results were more positive
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14
Q

evaluation: success of TE systems depends on a consistent approach from prison staff (bassett and blanchard 1977)

A
  • found any benefits were lost if staff applied the techniques inconsistently
  • according to the researchers, this was due to factors such as a lack of appropriate staff training or high staff turnover, which is particularly a feature of mayn UK prisons
  • therefore, BM schemes must ensure full and consistent staff participation if they are to work
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15
Q

evaluation: relatively easy to implement in custody

A
  • no need for specialist professional eg. as in anger management
  • TE systems can be designed and implemented by virtually anyone in any institution
  • cost-effective
  • easy to follow once workable methods of reinforcement have been established
  • therefore, BM techniques can be accessed by most prisoners
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16
Q

evaluation: BM may not affect long-term behaviour (blackburn 1993)

A

BM has ‘little rehabilitative value’ and any positive changes in behaviour that may occur whilst an offender is in prison may quickly be lost when they are released

17
Q

evaluation: anger management is more effective

A
  • more cognitive-based treatments eg. anger management, may be more likely to lead to permanent behavioural change
  • such treatments require the offender to understand the cause of their offending and to take responsibility for their own rehabilitation
  • in contrast, offenders can fairly easily play along with a TE system to access the rewards but this produces little change in their overall character
  • this may explain why, once the TE system is discontinued, an offender may quickly regress back to their former behaviour
18
Q

evaluation: decreased stress for prison staff

A
  • BM programmes have been assocsiated with decreased conflict in penal insitutions and more successful management of the prison population
  • this can reduce pressure and stress on prison staff in what can be a hostile and difficult environment
19
Q

evaluation: ethical issues

A
  • behaviour modification is manipulative and dehumanising (moya and achtenbeerg 1974)
  • participation in the scheme is obligatory rather than optional
  • human rights campaigners argue that withdrawal of ‘privileges’ such as exercise and contact with loved ones in the form of withdrawal of tokens is unethical