Prison; the word brings to mind images of dirty jail cells, with dirtier inmates. Criminals- locked away forever for their terrible crimes. Often times these people are seen as hopeless; rejects of society receiving the punishment they deserve as payment for their mistakes. Even worse more than half of prisoners released from jail return within six months for new criminal charges(Platt 614). Are these people doomed to a life of hardship and crime? The truth however is far more complex than this generalized view of criminals and prison society. After a thorough investigation of prison case studies and reoccurring themes through a psychological perspective, a well-informed conclusion can be drawn. Through behavioral shaping and operational conditioning
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In one study over 75% of prisoners incarcerated in Arizona prisons had suffered some type of childhood difficulty; these included dysfunctional family, witnessing violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect (de Ravello 1). This connection between lack of proper habilitation and jail time are exactly why prisons are often called “correctional centers”. They are meant to not only punish people who have made mistakes but also “correct” their ways of thinking in order to rehabilitate them into normal law abiding citizens. Despite the promise to help people who have made mistakes; many prison rehabilitation programs have failed entirely or worsened the problem. Many prisons are underfunded and understaffed for the amount of prisoners they care for, and are occasionally unable to provide such necessities as “adequate food, water, and shelter for all inmates”, much less “realistic and effective rehabilitation programs for all inmates according to their offense and personal needs” (Platt 615). Instead of receiving educational and job training programs the majority of prisoners were subjected to “treatment” that included “tranquilizers, aversive therapies, psychosurgery, [and] new and dangerous drugs”. Many prisoners despised this so called “rehabilitation” seeing it as “a more profound mode of punishment” by claiming that “it cloaks and mystifies its repressive practices under the mantle of dispassionate professionalism” (Platt 616). Instead of truly helping prisoners many failed rehabilitation programs resulted in a “process of mortification” in which “the inmate is made to display a giving up of his will” (Platt
In one study over 75% of prisoners incarcerated in Arizona prisons had suffered some type of childhood difficulty; these included dysfunctional family, witnessing violence, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect (de Ravello 1). This connection between lack of proper habilitation and jail time are exactly why prisons are often called “correctional centers”. They are meant to not only punish people who have made mistakes but also “correct” their ways of thinking in order to rehabilitate them into normal law abiding citizens. Despite the promise to help people who have made mistakes; many prison rehabilitation programs have failed entirely or worsened the problem. Many prisons are underfunded and understaffed for the amount of prisoners they care for, and are occasionally unable to provide such necessities as “adequate food, water, and shelter for all inmates”, much less “realistic and effective rehabilitation programs for all inmates according to their offense and personal needs” (Platt 615). Instead of receiving educational and job training programs the majority of prisoners were subjected to “treatment” that included “tranquilizers, aversive therapies, psychosurgery, [and] new and dangerous drugs”. Many prisoners despised this so called “rehabilitation” seeing it as “a more profound mode of punishment” by claiming that “it cloaks and mystifies its repressive practices under the mantle of dispassionate professionalism” (Platt 616). Instead of truly helping prisoners many failed rehabilitation programs resulted in a “process of mortification” in which “the inmate is made to display a giving up of his will” (Platt