forensic: anger management Flashcards
What does Novaco suggest triggers emotional arousal that precedes aggressive acts?
Cognitive factors
he suggests anger is quick to surface in anxiety-inducing or threatening situations and certain individuals experience quick anger in these contexts.
How is anger reinforced according to behaviorist terms?
By individuals’ feelings of control in that situation
What type of therapy do anger-management programmes represent?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The individual is taught to recognise the cognitive factors that trigger their anger and loss of control and then encouraged to develop techniques which bring about conflict resolution without the need for violence
What are the 3 stages of anger management?
- Cognitive preparation
- skills aquisition
- application practice
True or False: Cognitive preparation is the last stage of anger management.
False
Cognitive preparation is the first stage.
What techniques are individuals encouraged to develop in anger management?
Techniques for conflict resolution without violence
This is a key goal of anger-management programmes.
outline cognitive preparation
This stage requires an offender to reflect on past experience and consider the typical pattern of their anger
The offender learns to identify those situations which act as triggers to anger and if the way
in which the offender interprets the event is irrational, the therapists role is to make this
clear
EG: the offender may view someone looking at them or their partner as an act of confrontation > in redefining the situation as non-threatening, the therapist is attempting to break what may well be an automatic response for the offender
outline skills acquisition
In this stage, offenders are introduced to a range of techniques and skills to help them deal
with their anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively.
-
Behavioural: Assertiveness training in how to communicate more effectively which will
become an automatic response if practised regularly - Physiological: Deal with the physical reaction to anger such as using relaxation training or meditation > The aim is to control one’s emotions rather then being controlled by them
- Cognitive: Positive self-talk to encourage calmness for example counting to ten to temper our reaction to a stressful event
outline application practice
In this final phase, offenders are given the opportunity to practise their skills within a carefully controlled environment.
* Such role play may involve the offender and the therapist re-enacting scenarios that may have escalated feelings of anger and acts of violence
in the past
* This requires commitment from the offender, and they must see each scenario as real
* If the offender deals with role play successfully this is given positive reinforcement by the therapist
AO3: individual differences
success may depend on individual factors
Kevin Howells et al (2005) conducted an investigation with Australian offenders.
The researchers found that participation in the anger management programme had little overall impact when compared to a control group who received no treatment.
However, significant progress was made with those offenders who showed intense levels of anger before the programme. Also, offenders who had showed change and highly motivated from the outset (so-called ‘treatment
readiness’) experienced similar gains
LIMITATION as this suggests that anger management programmes may only benefit offenders who fit a certain profile
AO3: expensive
they require the services of highly trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders.
For this reason, many prisons may not have the resources to fund such programmes.
In addition, the success of anger management is often based on the commitment of those who participate, and this may be a problem if prisoners are uncooperative.
LIMITATION as this suggests that effective anger management programmes are probably not going to work in most prisons
AO3: no cause and effect relationship
Anger management assumes there is a causal relationship between anger and offending. Anger is assumed to be an
important antecedent to offending in that it produces the emotional state necessary to commit crime
Loza and Loza-Fanous (1999) found no differences in levels of anger between offenders classed as violent and those classed
as non-violent. Further, they suggested anger management programmes may be misguided as they provide offenders with a justification for their behaviour
LIMITATION as it can be argued that anger management is not relevant to reducing offending behaviour, as there may not be a clear-cut
cause and effect relationship
AO3: better than behaviour modification
one strength of anger management is that the benefits may outlast those of behaviour modification
Anger management (unlike behaviour modification) tackles the causes of offending (cognitive processes that trigger anger and offending)
Behaviour modification only deals with surface level behaviour and not the processes that drive behaviour
Experience of anger management gives criminals insight into their offending behaviour and allows them to self-discover ways of managing themselves outside the prison setting
STRENGTH as this suggests anger management is more likely than behaviour modification to lead to permanent behavioural change
COUNTER:follow up studies do not support this assumption.
Blackburn (1993) points out that whilst anger management may have a noticeable effect on the conduct of offenders in the short term, there is little evidence that it reduces recidivism in the long term
This may be because the application phase relies on role play > this does not reflect the real all the possible triggers that are present in a real-world situation. Any progress made may count for little
LIMITATION as this means that anger management may not reduce reoffending
