Institutional Aggression Flashcards
What can the aggression in institutions be caused by? (5 points)
- Over crowding
- Architecture
- Policies
- Unsupervised areas
- Staff actions
What does the deprivation model suggest?
Claims when people are deprived of lots of things, e.g in prison this makes them aggressive as a reaction to how they feel
How does Zimbardo’s prisons study support the situation model?
Guards were not previously aggressive but became aggressive due to the institution they were placed into
What is some evaluation of Zimbardo’s study?
In terms of relating this to real life this was only a study. Cannot replicate, for example all the over crowding in real, established institutions
Why is the situation model considered nurture?
Because regardless of who you are as a person you will be aggressive
What are the issues surrounding the situation model?
Real world applications - spend money on improving institutions e.g staff training, reducing over crowding etc. Have as many enrichment activities as possible to prevent being deprived
What did Bandura do?
Studied school children who had to work with children from another school. 2 conditions: one where they heard an assistant refer to the other students as ‘animals and one where they were referred to as nice. Told to give electric shocks to the other students
What did Bandura find?
Higher shocks were delivered in the animal condition
How does Banduras study support the situation model?
Staff actions caused increased aggression - the institution caused aggression
What does the importation model by Irwin and Cressey suggest?
Inmates who enter a prison with particular characteristics are more likely to engage in interpersonal violence than other inmates
What issues are there surrounding the importation model? (2 issues)
The social sensitive nature of research - some people suggest black people are seen to be more aggressive in prisons, however this can be seen as racists
- Nature/nurture - some people are nurtured to be aggressive e.g by parents others may be naturally aggressive
What did Harer and Steffenmier do?
Analysed data from 58 US prisons
What did Harer and Steffenmier find?
Black inmates displayed higher levels of violent behaviour than white inmates. Concluded these differences reflected racial differences in US society in general
What does Harer and Steffenmier study show?
Supports the claim that characteristics are imported into prison
What did Keller and Wang find?
Prisons holding the most troublesome inmates were more likely to have violence occur. Supports importation model
