institutional aggression in the prisions

Question 1

explain the importation model (dispositional explanations)?

Answer 1

• John Irwin and Donald Cressey
• prisoners aren’t isolated from the real world, as inmates usually bring their subcultures of criminality
• aggression is due to the individual characteristics of inmates not prison environment

Question 2

evaluate research that supports the importation model?

Answer 2

-STRENGTH
procedure:
-studied 810 jevenile delinquants in institutions in california
they had negative dispositional features e.g.. childhood trauma
findings:
-inmates more likely to engage in suicidal activity+violence compared to control group with less -ive Dfeatures

Question 3

evaluate a weakness of the importian model?

Answer 3

WEAKNESS

• importation model is poor explanation of Aggression
• ignores role of prison officials, as poorly managed prisons= more likely to experience higher forms of aggression e.g.bad leadership

Question 4

explain a situational explanation= the deprivation model?

Answer 4

• prison environment is to blame for aggression
• loss of material goods can make people resort to aggression
• competition through aggression becomes adaptive solution to deprivation

Question 5

evaluate supporting research for the deprivation model?

Answer 5

procedure:
investigated factors that predict inmate aggression in 510 US prisoners
findings:
-violence more common with more female staff, and when people could band together e.g..blacks
-situational as they are independent of individual characteristics

Question 6

evaluate a weakness of the deprivation model?

Answer 6

• WEAKNESS
• model predicts lack of freedom=aggression
• study into 300 inmates found no link between conjugal visits and reduced aggression
• shows situational factors do not affect prison violence