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10 Cards in this Set

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Institutional Aggression


Definition


AO1

Institutional Aggression (IA) can occur within institutions and between institutions.


IA within institutions normally investigates the aggression seen in Prisons, Hospitals, Schools etc.


IA between institutions normally refers to Genocide and Terrorism.


Institutional Aggression


Deindividuation?


AO1+AO2

Institutions reduce individuality, eg by using uniforms, may increase the likelihood of deindividuation and therefore aggression. e.g police in riot gear are hard to identify and this anonymity reduces the likelihood of being caught and might encourage aggression in addition to loss of personal values and morals.


+Z imbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment showed that a loss of personal identity in guards and prisoners can result in aggression. The clothing of guards and prisoners contributed to this.

Institutional Aggression


Importation Model


AO1



Irwin & Cressy (1962) claim that people, like prisoners, bring with them their own values and norms of behaviour when they enter prison. They are not 'blank slates' and hence will respond to the demands of the prison environment with the aggressive traits they would have demonstrated 'on the outside'.



Gang membership before prison is a keen indicator of aggression within the prison environment.

Institutional Aggression


Importation Model


AO2

+ Harer & Steffensmeier (2006) collected data from 56 US prisons and found that aggressive acts were significantly higher in the black prison population, but their drug and alcohol use was much lower than the white prison population. The researchers claimed these reflected differences found in US society.


+DeLisi et al. found a slight positive correlation between gang membership and aggression in prison, suggesting that aggression factors from before entering prison influence aggression in prison. However, the relationship may not be causal as there may be intervening variables such as socioeconomic status or ethnicity.


Institutional Aggression


Deprivation Model


AO1

The deprivation model (Paterline & Peterson) suggests that aggression in prisons and other institutions is the product of the stressful and oppressive conditions of the institution itself. For example, aggression in prisons can by catalysed by deprivation of liberty, lack of autonomy, lack of goods or services, lack of heterosexual relationship and absence of ample security.





Institutional Aggression


Deprivation Model


AO2

+ McCorkle et al. found that overcrowding, lack of privacy & the lack of meaningful activity in prisons all significantly influence violence. However, these factors did not influence the likelihood of major collective acts of aggression (i.e. prison riots), suggesting that the deprivation model may only apply to some forms of aggression.


+Wilson (2010) reported on improvements to the conditions at HMP Woodhill, and levels of violence against inmates and staff decreased, giving support to the deprivation model. This also presents a useful application of this research: it can be used to reduce levels of violence in prisons by improving living conditions in those prisons. However, these changes were halted because of political concerns.


-The deprivation model may not apply to all types of institutions. Nijman et al. found that increased personal space in psychiatric institutions failed to decrease the amount of violence among patients. This suggests that while the deprivation model may be applicable to prison environments, but it may not be relevant to violence within psychiatric wards.



Institutional Aggression


Comparing Importation and Deprivation Models


AO2

+ Both models offer a reasonable explanation of aggression, but may be not for all aggression within institutions.


+ Jiang & Fisher-Giorlando (2002) thought that both Importation and deprivation models could be used to explain aggression within prisons. Deprivation is better at explaining aggression against staff; whereas importation is better at explaining aggression against inmates.


- However Poole & Regioli (1983) found that aggression in young prisoners was more closely related to their pre-prison experiences of violence, irrespective of their detention conditions.

Institutional Aggression


Obedience


AO1

Researchers, such as Milgram, bleieved that the much of the atroity seen in WWII was due to Nazi soldiers being placed within a situation with particular set of factors which made them obedient. Many soldiers claimed afterwards that 'they were just following orders'.


+ Milgram's research clearly shows that 'reasonable' men were willing to follow orders and produce some truly atrocious actions.

Institutional Aggression


Obedience


AO2

- Mandel claimed the Nazi genocide was not as 'monocausal' as Milgram 'obedience' theory suggests.


- Goldhagen argues that the Holocaust was due to dehumanising anti-Semitism which was prevalent at that time. Obedience does not explain the unnecessarily cruel acts committed, in which soldiers were far more brutal than was commanded of them; whereas anti-Semitism was rife in Nazi Germany, with Jews dehumanised so that normal moral considerations were not seen to apply to them.

Institutional Aggression


IDA & CONCLUSION

A major flaw with much IA research is that it is gender biased as it is based on institutions with predominantly male populations. Therefore we can't be sure if the high levels of aggression is due to the theories proposed above, or simply due to biological factors, such as higher levels of testosterone. We should also be cautious when ascribing findings to gender equal environments, such as the workplace.



There are many theories and ideas about IA and there may be many other reasons not considered here why aggression is rife in institutions.