Forensic Psychology - 12. Dealing with Offending Behaviour: 2. Behaviour Modification and Anger Management

Question 1

3 types of behaviour modification

Answer 1

Token economy
Anger management
Restorative justice

Question 2

Token economy

Answer 2

Encourages prisoners to behave well by rewarding good behaviour and sanctioning bad behaviour

Question 3

What is the token economy based on?

Answer 3

Based on the behaviourist approach, specifically operant conditioning

Question 4

Examples of rewards the prisoners may acquire

Answer 4

More time out of the cell
More rob opportunities in prison resulting in more pay
Increased TV use
Conjugal visits (meaning visits from a love one - US only)

Question 5

Examples of sanctions

Answer 5

Limited/no visits
More time in cell
No TV
No PlayStation

Question 6

Who carried out a study into the token economy for young delinquents?

Answer 6

Hobbs and Holt (1976)

Question 7

What did Hobbs and Holt find?

Answer 7

Introduced a token economy programme with young delinquents in 3 behavioural units and a fourth that acted as a control.
Significant improvement in positive behaviour

Question 8

Who carried out a study into the token economy in an adult prison?

Answer 8

Rice et al (1990)

Question 9

What did Rice et al find?

Answer 9

Found increase in positive behaviours when token economy programme was introduced in adult prison

Question 10

What is Blackburn’s criticism about token economies?

Answer 10

He believes they have very little rehabilitative value and any positive changes may quickly be lost when offenders are released

Question 11

How may staff impact the effectiveness of token economies (Basset and Blanchard)?

Answer 11

When staff apply the rules inconsistently the benefits of token economy were lost

Question 12

What may prisoners do in a token economy prison? (2)

Answer 12

They may fake behaviour that they know is desirable to get a reward.
They may commit crimes in order to take the tokens away from others

Question 13

What is anger management a form of?

Answer 13

CBT

Question 14

What do anger management programmes aim to do?

Answer 14

They aim to change the way a person thinks and therefore the way they act

Question 15

What does Novaco say about anger management?

Answer 15

It’s a therapeutic programme offered in prisons to identify triggers and allow offenders to deal with the situation in a positive and calm manner

Question 16

How many steps are there in the anger management programme and what are they?

Answer 16

3 steps:
1. Cognitive preparation
2. Skill acquisition
3. Application practice

Question 17

Cognitive preparation

Answer 17

They identify situations/triggers that provoke them after reflection
Thought patterns are challenged to help them recognise that their response is irrational

Question 18

Skill acquisition

Answer 18

New coping skills are learned to enable them to avoid triggers and deal with situations more rationally

Question 19

What skills may offenders learn in the skill acquisition stage of anger management?

Answer 19

Relaxation techniques
Stop and think
Assertiveness
Effective communication

Question 20

Application practice

Answer 20

Role-play a variety of scenarios to practice new skills to control anger.
Done in controlled and safe environment
Therapist will deliberately provoke the individual to see how they’d react

Question 21

How many sessions does anger management tend to be?

Answer 21

Usually lasts around 10 sessions but this may vary depending on the type of crime that has been committed

Question 22

Who carried out research support for anger management in 2000?

Answer 22

Ireland

Question 23

Aim of Ireland’s research into anger management

Answer 23

To identify whether or not anger management courses work

Question 24

Research method chosen by Ireland

Answer 24

Natural experiment

Question 25

Method of Ireland’s anger management study

Answer 25

Group of 50 prisoners who had completed CALM anger management programme compared to group of 37 who were assessed as suitable but who hadn’t actually completed the course

Question 26

Results of Ireland’s study into anger management

Answer 26

Prisoners who completed CALM rated themselves lower on the anger questionnaire
92% showed improvements on at least one measure of aggression

Question 27

Limitations of Ireland’s study

Answer 27

Self report means that social desirability may have affected the findings. Prisoners may have reported improvements just so they could shorted their time in prison/on the course

Question 28

Limitations of anger management: lack of evidence

Answer 28

Lack of evidence of long-term effects of anger management

Question 29

Limitations of anger management: relevance

Answer 29

Not all crimes are motivated by anger

Question 30

Limitations of anger management: motivation

Answer 30

Prisoners must be motivated to attend the programme and must actually want to change their ways

Question 31

Limitations of anger management: cost

Answer 31

Anger management is expensive as it requires a skilled therapist to deliver it

Question 32

Limitations of anger management: anger and violence

Answer 32

Anger doesn’t necessarily cause violence

Question 33

Focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with their victims/victims families

Answer 33

Restorative justice programmes

Question 34

What do restorative justice programmes involve?

Answer 34

A supervised mediation meeting between the victim and the offender, with a trained mediator also present

Question 35

What do restorative justice programmes help offenders to do?

Answer 35

They help offenders to see the impact of their crimes

Question 36

Resotrative justice programmes have to be __________ for all those involved

Answer 36

Voluntary

Question 37

What does restorative justice allow the offenders to do in terms of their rehabilitation

Answer 37

Allows them to play an active role in their rehabilitation

Question 38

Strengths of restorative justice: satisfaction rate from victims

Answer 38

85% satisfaction from victims who had taken part in face-to-face restorative justice meetings

Question 39

Strengths of restorative justice: recidivism of those who had restorative justice compared to those who didn’t in 2007

Answer 39

11% reoffending rate for those who practiced restorative justice
37% reoffending rate for those in matched control group

Question 40

Strengths of restorative justice: cost

Answer 40

Every £1 spend on restorative justice would save the government £8 through reduced reoffending

Question 41

Strengths of restorative justice: who is it most effective for?

Answer 41

Most effective for young, first-time offenders

Question 42

Limitations of restorative justice: cost

Answer 42

High costs involved in training mediators

Question 43

Limitations of restorative justice: how well it works

Answer 43

Only works well if offender feels genuine remorse

Question 44

Limitations of restorative justice: victim

Answer 44

Only works when there is an obvious victim

Question 45

Limitations of restorative justice: stigma

Answer 45

Huge stigma that restorative justice lets the offenders off lightly