Institutional Aggression Hypothesis: Prisions

Question 1

Outline- The important model (Dispositional explanation)

Answer 1

Argues that prison is not completely different from the real world as everyone in there has been in the real world them selves and experienced other things which may affect their aggression

Question 2

Outline- research into the important model

Answer 2

Matt DiLisi (2011)
- 813 prisoners who had several Dispositional experiences as a child such as childhood trauma, high levels of anger, irritability
Found- these were the inmates who engaged most In suicidal activity and sexual misconduct and committed more acts of violence compared to the control group of inmates without so many Dispositional factors.

Question 3

Outline- the deprivation model (situational explanations)

Answer 3

Argues aggression in prisons was a product of being deprived of lots of things and the stressful conditions. They have a lack of access of goods and little control over their life and what they do which results in anger.

Question 4

Outline- research into the deprivation model

Answer 4

Benjamin Steiner (2009)
- investigated factors that predicted aggression in 512 inmates in the US
found- higher anger when there was more female staff, African American inmates, Hispanic inmates. The factors here reliably predicted aggressive behaviour.

Question 5

Evaluation- support for important model

Answer 5

Camp and Gaes (2005)
- 512 inmates with similar histories of aggression.
- 33% aggression in low security prison (more restricted) and 36% in high security prison (less restricted)
So- important model more significant than deprivation model.

Question 6

Evaluation- support for deprivation model

Answer 6

Cunningham et al (2010)
- studies 35 homocides in prisons and found that each of them had motivations such as drugs, homosexual relations, and personal possessions. These are all Dispositional factors
So- Dispositional factors causes aggression