Behaviour modification in custody

Question 1

what is the AO1 for behaviour modification in custody

Answer 1

• One of the methods used in rehabilitation of prisoners
• Uses the principles of behaviourism - Notably operant conditioning
  The idea is to:
• Increase the desirable behaviours (keeping a clean cell, being obedient, avoiding conflict)
• Decrease the undesirable behaviours (aggressive acts, disobedience, cell in disarray)
  This can be achieved using:
• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
• Punishment

Question 2

what is the AO1 for token economy system

Answer 2

• Most behaviour modification programmes are based around a token economy system This can be managed by prison staff and is something that all inmates would be required to adhere to
• Tokens are secondary reinforcers because they derive their value from their association with reward

Question 3

what is the AO1 for positive reinforcement

Answer 3

• When good behaviour occurs - Prisoners ‘earn’ tokens
• These tokens can be exchanged for desirable goods - Such as cigarettes or food or privileges like making a phone call to a loved one, time in the gym
• To ensure The good behaviour continues - Undesirable behaviour is stamped out

Question 4

what is the AO1 for negative reinforcement/punishment

Answer 4

• Threat of taking back tokens from prisoners when they have behaved badly should make them comply (negative reinforcement)
• can be a powerful tool to modify behaviour
• Those that fail to comply or disobey can face consequences (punishment)

Question 5

what are the AO3 points for behaviour modification in custody

Answer 5

• research support - Hobbs + Holt +ve
• long term success -ve
• ethics -ve
• ease of us +ve/-ve
• extrinsic motivation -ve

Question 6

expand on the +ve AO3 point, research support - Hobbs + Holt

Answer 6

• Hobbs and Holt (1976)
• Found behaviour modification programme in 3 young offenders’ institutions significantly reduced the amount of undesirable behaviour within the institution compared with an institution that had no programme
• This shows the short-term benefits that behaviour modification can have, BUT this does not mean that such systems have long term benefits:

Question 7

expand on the -ve AO3 point, long term success

Answer 7

• There is little evidence to suggest they work once the offender has left the institution
• (i.e. when the rewards are no longer available)
• This means they have limited rehabilitative effect, which is a huge limitation.\
• Not extrinsic reward outside of the prison
• Only manages the prisoner temporarily - when in the prison not outside

Question 8

expand on the -ve AO3 point, ethics

Answer 8

• BM programmes have received criticism for contravening human rights
• By withholding such things as visits from relatives, or access to exercise privileges is seen as unethical
• The opposing argument is that the prisoners have been incarcerated because of their lack of moral/ethical code and they have therefore lost the right for privileges.

Question 9

expand on the +ve/-ve AO3 point, ease of use

Answer 9

• Behaviour modification takes little training or expense to run effectively within an institution
• This makes it one of the most cost-effective and straightforward options available
• It is also easy to introduce as staff do not need to be skilled to administer it, unlike other interventions such as anger management
• However, unless all staff use the system consistently, its success will be limited.
• Research by Bassett found that factors such as high staff turnover or lack of training negatively impacted success rates of such systems.

Question 10

expand on the -ve AO3 point, extrinsic motivation

Answer 10

• Unfortunately, using this method you are training prisoners to behave for personal gain only or to avoid personal loss.
• This is a very surface level solution compared to methods such as restorative justice which attempt to intrinsically motivate prisoners to do the right thing by showing them the impact of their actions on their victims.
• Any treatment which focuses on intrinsic motivation, working at a deep and powerful level is likely to have greater long term effects than basic token economies.