Institutional aggression Flashcards
Explain what is meant by institutional aggression.
Institutional aggression refers to aggression within or between groups or institutions and much of the research on models of institutional aggression has been done in prison environments.
Outline the importation model.
The importation model focuses on the personality characteristics that prison inmates take into the prison with them. For example inmates with values, attitudes, experiences, and social norms that tend towards violent behaviour towards other people will be more likely to engage in interpersonal violence than inmates with less violent personalities and experiences. Often it is younger inmates that tend to behave violently as they are more likely to find it harder to adjust to prison life, and may therefore engage in more conflicts with others, and are more likely to view aggression as an appropriate way of dealing with conflict. The importation model argues therefore that it is not the situational pressures of the prison (or other institution) that cause aggression, but rather the personalities of the individuals within it.
What did Keller and Wang find?
Keller and Wang (2005) found that prison violence is more likely to occur in facilities with higher-security (and therefore who had committed more violent crimes) inmates, than those with lower security inmates, supporting the idea that the inmates had brought violent behaviour into the institution with them.
What did Harer and Steffensmeier find?
Harer and Steffensmeier (1996) found that in US prisons, black inmates were significantly more aggressive than white inmates, but that white inmates were significantly more likely to engage in alcohol and drug taking than black inmates. They argued that this behaviour reflected the cultural norms that black and white societies hold outside prison, and so the behaviours had been imported into the prison which supports the importation model.
What are the criticisms of Harer and Steffensmeier’s study?
, it could be argued that these ‘groups’ are subjected to more segregation and abuse and thus respond with aggression in defence rather than instigate it within such institutional settings. This could be occurring in both society and within institutions, explaining the between the two. This therefore shows that we cannot be sure of cause and effect as unknown variables may be contributing.
What is a weakness of the model?
A major weakness of the importation model is that it does not accurately predict which inmates will behave aggressively in prison. This is because the model states that prisoners who were members of violent gangs before they were convicted will be more likely to behave aggressively in prison, however DeLisi et al (2004) found no evidence that gang membership prior to imprisonment was linked with violence once in prison.
Outline the deprivation model.
Unlike the importation model, the deprivation model argues that it is the situation inmates find themselves in within the prison that causes violent behaviour. The deprivation model suggests that members of institutions, such as inmates within a prison, are deprived of things such as freedom, home comforts, and social networks, and that this deprivation causes frustration that in turn leads to violent behaviour towards other inmates, the building itself, and staff. The model is an extension of the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
What did McCorkle find?
McCorkle et al. found that overcrowding, lack of privacy & the lack of meaningful activity in prisons all significantly influence violence.
Explain the research by Wilson.
Other researchers found that aggression in prisons can be controlled by improving conditions, showing that deprivation can increase aggression. For example, Wilson changed the deprivation conditions at HMP Woodhill, and levels of violence decreased, giving support to the deprivation model. This also presents a real-world application of this research: it can be used to reduce levels of violence in prisons by improving living conditions in those prisons.
What did Nijman find?
Nijman et al. found that increased personal space in psychiatric institutions failed to decrease the amount of violence among patients. This suggests that while the deprivation model may be applicable to prison environments, it may not be relevant to violence within psychiatric institutions.
Outline McCorkle’s second study.
McCorkle et al (1995) sampled 371 US prisons and found little evidence to support the prediction that overcrowding in prisons leads to increased levels of violent behaviour. They also found that stress among inmates, such as feelings of loneliness and isolation, are relatively constant among inmates in all prisons, whereas serious outbreaks of violence such as riots are actually relatively isolated. They argue that the way a prison is managed is a greater predictor of serious violence than overcrowding and stress among inmates.
Weaknesses of the research on instiutional aggression?
- Much of the research into institutional aggression focuses on interactions between members of prison populations or the armed forces which, by their very nature, consist of predominately male populations therefore research into institutional aggression is gender biased. This means that generalising from these institutions to other institutions, such as work places, should be treated with caution.
- Also, some explanations of institutional aggression see it as a product of innate personality traits that are imported into prisons and thus due to nature. However other explanations see the environment of the prison as the contributing factor to aggression and thus highlight the role of nurture, which shows that the research on institutional aggression adds evidence to both sides of the debate.
