Aggression- institutional aggression

Question 1

What are the 2 types of explanations for institutional aggression?

Answer 1

1- Dispositional explanations
2- Situational explanations

Question 2

What does institutional aggression mean?

Answer 2

Aggressive or violent behaviour that takes place in the social context of prisons, or other formal organised setting.

Question 3

What are dispositional explanations?

Answer 3

They highlight the importance of an individual’s personality

Question 4

What is the dispositional explanation for institutional aggression?

Answer 4

The importation model.

Question 5

What does the importation model suggest?

Answer 5

Prisoners take in certain characteristics with them, so if violent outside of prison then they will be in prison too.

Question 6

What are examples of characteristics that prisoners take into prison with them, for the importation model?

Answer 6

It includes beliefs, norms, attitudes and a history of learning experiences of aggressive behaviour.

Question 7

Who developed the importation model for dispositional explanation for institutional aggression?

Answer 7

Irwin and Cressey (1962)

Question 8

What is a strength of the importation model?

Answer 8

It incorporates nature and nurture.

Question 9

How does the importation model incorporate nature and nurture?

Answer 9

It’s based on individual nature (inherited temperament) but also nurture of the social environment.

Question 10

What are weaknesses of the importation model

Answer 10

• The model is only correlational so doesn’t establish a cause and effect relationship between individual traits and aggressive behaviour.
• Individual differences

Question 11

How is individual differences a weakness of the importation model?

Answer 11

Not all prisoners react aggressively to the same environment, suggesting that the model lacks universal explanatory power.

Question 12

What are situational explanations?

Answer 12

It identifies the cause of behaviour as existing within the environment, which may include other people.

Question 13

What is the situational explanation for institutional aggression?

Answer 13

The deprivation model.

Question 14

What is the deprivation model?

Answer 14

The idea that harsh prison conditions create stress for prisoners who cope by being aggressive.

Question 15

What are the harsh conditions which are included in the deprivation model?

Answer 15

1- Liberty
2- autonomy
3- good/ services
4- heterosexual relationships
5- security