Situational Explanations - Evaluations Flashcards
What did Gaes et al. (1985) find regarding overcrowding in prisons?
Gaes et al. (1985) found that overcrowding in prisons is associated with ill health, general misconduct, and increased aggression and violence. Overcrowding heightened stress, leading to an overreaction to various factors within the prison environment.
How did Wilson (2005) intervene to address aggression related to overcrowding?
Wilson (2005) reduced overcrowding, introduced music to alleviate noisy conditions, and carefully controlled the temperature in units at HMP Woodhill. This intervention successfully lowered levels of aggression, demonstrating practical applications of understanding the impact of the prison environment.
What were the findings of Camp & Gaes’ (2005) field experiment on prison security levels and aggression?
Camp & Gaes (2005) found that individuals in low-security prisons (33%) were just as likely to behave aggressively as those in high-security prisons (36%). This suggests that aggression in prisons is more likely a result of individual factors than the situational context.
What did McCorkle et al. (1995) discover in their investigation of violence and overcrowding in US state prisons?
McCorkle et al. (1995) found little evidence supporting a link between violence and overcrowding in their study of 371 state prisons in the US. They argued that while stress is prevalent in prison environments, not all individuals resort to aggression, challenging the assumption that stress and frustration always lead to aggression in prisons.
