Institutional Aggression

Institutional Aggression

1. Situational explanations

   • Result of situation. Refers to factors in social situations that encourage showing aggressie behaviours that otherwise would not be seen.
     • Deindividuation: Zimbardo argued that the situation brings out evil in individuals, institutions such as prisons or the armed forces may produce feelings of deindividuation because they guards wore uniforms and were most aggressive in the dark.
       • AO2: Zimbardos prison study. Prison guards acted aggressively towards the prisoners - deindividualised by uniforms. Rea life example: Abu Ghraib prison US military personnel abused Iraqi prisoners.
   • Deprivation Model:
     • Much of the resarch carried out in prisons, lack of human needs is highly frustrating and may lead to an aggressive reaction. Eg: deprived of freedom, security and heterosexual relationships.
     • AO2:
       • 431 Male prison records in southern states of USA. Deprivation model was most likely to explain inmate aggression/violence towards staff. The ones with most restrictive regimes had highest incidence of violence.
         • McCorkie et al: 371 State prisons in the US, found little evidence to support connection. Claim that serious violence is more a consequence of the management of prisons rather than general deprivation

2. Dispositional Explanations

   • Institutional aggression is the result of the dispositions or personalities of individuals. This suggests that aggressive behaviour is not a product of the institution.
     • Cheeseman: men in prison behave a certain way and apply that behaviour to their new institutional setting.
       • Kane and Janus: inmates who had greater periods of unemployment, lower levels of education and more serious criminal record were more likely to be aggressive in prison
         • An institution that people generally volunteer to join such as the arm, attract people who are aggressive as they may see it as an outlet for their aggressive tendencies.
   • AO2:
     • Supporting Evidence from DeLisi
       • Analysed 831 male inmates records from SW USA.
       • Relationships between gang membership and prison aggression.
         • An issue: small relationship and correlational - case and effect can't be established.
       • Poole and Regoli
         • Among juvenile offenders in four institutions, pre-institutional violence predicted inmate aggression. Gang members continue to act aggressively in prison, bring it with them rather than it being a produce of the environment.