Institutional Aggression

Question 1

What is the idea behind the situation explanation?

Answer 1

That a number of social factors are responsible for institutional aggression. That the individual is not to blame but their social environment is and the stigma attached

Question 2

Who devised the situation explanation?

Answer 2

Zimbardo

Question 3

What is to blame for institutional aggression?

Answer 3

The environment and the stigma attached

Question 4

What does Zimbardo argue?

Answer 4

That any individual can become cruel and aggressive of the situation and the environment led them that way.

Question 5

What are the debates associated with the situation explanation?

Answer 5

Determinism and socially sensitive research

Question 6

Explain the debates…

Answer 6

This research is deterministic because it claims people lose free will and have no control of their actions. This leads the research to be socially sensitive as people may try to excuse their inappropriate behaviour as they had no control over their actions.

Question 7

What two factors may contribute to institutional aggression?

Answer 7

Deindividuation and modelling

Question 8

How may deindividuation cause institutional aggression?

Answer 8

Because people may feel they have anonymity whilst in the environment and behave aggressively e.g in a prison riot

Question 9

How may modelling cause institutional aggression?

Answer 9

If someone witnesses someone else being rewarded for their aggressive behaviour they may imitate it e.g a prisoner may see another prisoner acting aggressively and receiving a reward and imitate it

Question 10

Evaluation points of situational explanations…

Answer 10

Too much emphasis is put on the environment. Surely we still choose whether to be aggressive or not.
It doesn’t consider individual factors, perhaps these aggressive acts are due to the type of person in the institution

Question 11

What supports the situational explanation?

Answer 11

Zimbardos prison study

Question 12

What were zimbardos prison study results?

Answer 12

People ‘prison officers’ who were deemed normal became particularly aggressive towards the prisoners because they were dehumanised and among a group of others also acting aggressively.

Question 13

What do zimbardos results suggest?

Answer 13

That normal people can behave aggressively if placed in an institution with an aggressive stigma. Particularly as on a detailed account some of these normal people enjoyed the role suggesting the stigma affected them

Question 14

What are criticisms of zimbardos study?

Answer 14

It has been suggested demand characteristics took place. Zimbardo has also been accused of investigator bias as he merged his roles and told the officers to make the prisoners seem powerless. He influenced their behaviour.

Question 15

What are the explanations of institutional aggression?

Answer 15

Situational explanation
Importation model (disposition model)

Question 16

What is the importation model also known as?

Answer 16

Dispositional factors

Question 17

What does the importation model claim?

Answer 17

That the type of people who end up in prison bring with them a lot of social problems which creates violence and aggression within the institution.

Question 18

What research is associated with the importation model?

Answer 18

Kane and Janus

Poole and Regoli

Question 19

Explain the most controversial research associated with the importation model..

Answer 19

Research illustrates black inmates are more likely to be involved in violence in prisons that whites and it’s been suggested this is due to their background, coming from a poorer community where violence is a cultural norm. They then import these values to the prison.

Question 20

What did Kane and Janus find?

Answer 20

Inmates who had a greater period of unemployment, lower levels of education and a more serious criminal record were more likely to be aggressive.

Question 21

What did Poole and Regoli find?

Answer 21

Inmates who had been violent outside were more likely to be violent inside

Question 22

What are the debates associated with the importation model?

Answer 22

It’s racist.

Question 23

What debates are relevant to institutional aggression as a whole?

Answer 23

How it’s been useful for society, we now know to treat those in institutions as more humans to reduce aggression e.g congical visits, less crowing
It’s androcentric. If focuses on men in prison.
Nature/nurture. Nature importation, nurture deprivation.