institutional aggression in the context of prisoners Flashcards
Institutional aggression is the name we give to…
Caggression that occurs regularly in institutions.
There are two types of explanation for institutional aggression:
CSituational explanations say that prison violence is caused by the unpleasant environment and poor conditions in prisons.
Dispositional explanations say that prison violence is caused by the personal characteristics of prisoners.
Prisoners might have biological and genetic factors that make them more likely to behave aggressively, such as…
Ehaving increased testosterone.
Fhaving damage to their limbic system.
Ccarrying the short allele of the MAOA gene.
In other words, the prisoners might have been predisposed towards violence because
In other words, the prisoners might have been predisposed towards violence because they learned to be aggressive through observational learning, and imitation of aggressive models.
The importation model explains aggression as being caused by…
Eenvironmental factors like aggressive childhood role models.
Abiological factors like damage to the limbic system.
Bbiological factors like carrying the short allele of the MAOA gene.
Cbiological factors like increased testosterone.
The personal characteristics of the prisoners that predispose them to violence could include:
Agender
Bbiological risk factors
Cpersonality
Daggressive role models
People who belong to gangs learn social norms that reward violence, called the “
People who belong to gangs learn social norms that reward violence, called the “code of the streets ”.
By following participants from childhood to adulthood to observe outcomes, Mears et al. were conducting a…
Blongitudinal study.
Mears et al. found a…
positive correlation between people believing in the code of the streets and increased aggression in prison
There are two types of explanation for institutional aggression: full explanation
Dispositional explanations say that prison violence is caused by the personal characteristics of prisoners, which predispose them towards behaving violently. Situational explanations say that prison violence is caused by the unpleasant environment and poor conditions in the institution. The importation model, which says that aggression in prisons is caused by the violent personality of the prisoners, is a dispositional explanation.
The importation model, a dispositional explanation of institutional aggression, was developed by
Irwin and Cressey
Support for the importation model comes from a study on gang membership by
Mears et al
Outline one dispositional explanation of institutional aggression and two studies which support it. [6 marks]
The importation model, a dispositional explanation of institutional aggression developed by Irwin and Cressey, says that aggression in prisons is caused by the violent personality of the prisoners, which they carry into the prison. For instance, prisoners might be predisposed to violence by personal characteristics such as their gender, biological risk factors, their personality, and aggressive role models. One study which supports the importation model was conducted by Mears et al. Mears et al conducted a longitudinal study looking at children from poor areas where there were a lot of gangs, to see which children joined gangs. At adulthood, Mears et al looked at the participants who had ended up in prison, and measured their level of violence. Mears found that the prisoners who had joined gangs and believed in a code of the streets (social norms which reward violence) were more likely to behave aggressively in prison. A second study which supports the importation model, by Kane and Janus, investigated the behaviour of prisoners in a prison and also measured their personal characteristics. They found that the level of violence of the prisoners was associated with low levels of education, unemployment and a past history of violence.
Outline the importation model everything
The importation model, a dispositional explanation of institutional aggression developed by Irwin and Cressey, says that aggression in prisons is caused by the violent personality of the prisoners, which they carry into the prison. For instance, prisoners might be predisposed to violence by personal characteristics such as their gender, biological risk factors, their personality, and aggressive role models.
According to Sykes, the first two situational factors that can cause institutional aggression are…
Cbeing deprived of security.
Dbeing deprived of goods.
