Institutional aggression in the context of prisons

Question 1

What are the two types of explanations ?

Answer 1

Dispositional and situational explanation

Question 2

What is institutional aggression ?

Answer 2

It is aggressive or violent behaviour that takes place within the social context of a prison or organised setting.

Question 3

What is the dispositional explanation ?

Answer 3

An explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individuals personality.

Question 4

What is the situational explanation ?

Answer 4

An explanation that identifies the causes of behaviour as existing within the environment, which may include other people.

Question 5

What does the dispositional explanation include ?

Answer 5

The importation model - Irwin and Cressey

Question 6

Researchers of importation model :

Answer 6

John Irwin
Donald Cressey

Question 7

What is the importation model ?

Answer 7

The model argues that prisons are not completely insulated from everyday life outside in the ‘real world’
-Prison inmates come from the outside world and bring them subculture of typical criminality

Question 8

What do inmates import into prisons ?

Answer 8

Beliefs
Norms
Attitudes
History of learning experiences
Personal characteristics (gender+ethnicity)

Question 9

What is the dispositional explanation based on ?

Answer 9

Individual nature and nurture.
The willingness of inmates to use violence inside a prison to settle disputes reflects their lives before they were imprisoned.

Question 10

What does importing such behaviours influence?

Answer 10

It influences their use of aggression to establish power, status, influence and access to resources

Question 11

What is aggression seen as in the dispositional explanation ?

Answer 11

The product of individual characteristics of inmates and not of the prison environment

Question 12

Research done in dispositional explanations :

Answer 12

-Matt De lisi et al (2011)
-Group of juvenile offenders in Californian institutions who had negative backgrounds ( childhood trauma ,anger,abuse)
-These individuals were importing these characteristics into prison.

Question 13

Findings of research in dispositional explanations:

Answer 13

-Researchers compared this group with the control group of inmates who did not have these negative features.
-The ‘negative’ inmates are more likely to engage in suicidal activity,sexual misconduct and acts of physical agression