Institutional Aggression: Dispositional Explanation

Question 1

institutional aggression: dispositional aggression AKA

Answer 1

importation model

Question 2

who proposed the importation model

Answer 2

Irwin & Cressey (1962)

Question 3

Outline the dispositional exp
- importation model

Answer 3

Most influential dispositional explanation of prison violence is Irwin and Cressey’s (1962) ‘importation model’.

Institutional aggression is a result of the personal traits and social histories that prisoners bring with them to prison (rather than the prison itself).

Prisoners are not ‘blank slates’ - many attitudes/behaviours developed in the outside world are ‘imported’ into the prison.

Eg, prisoners may come to prison already possessing characteristics which increase the chances of violent behaviour in prison, eg. low self-control, impulsivity and anger.

Question 4

Outline the dispositional exp
- gang membership

Answer 4

An example of how aggression can be ‘imported’ into the prison is gang membership.

In the same way gang members are far more likely to commit violent crimes in public in the outside world, they more likely to be aggressive in prison.

Pre-prison gang membership is an important predictor of their institutional aggression.

These sub-cultures (socioeconomics) show how, as well as personality characteristics, the prisoner’s background/learned history can affect whether they are likely to be aggressive and violent when put in prison.

Question 5

Evaluate the dispositional exp for institutional aggression:
STRENGTHS

Answer 5

P) support from Kane and Janus (1981)
E) no of violent offences was related to the learned history of the offender.
E) lower level of education, more serious criminal record, more time unemployed -> more likely to be aggressive/violent in prison.
L) violence imported due to the offender’s previous experience

P) support from Poole and Regoli (1983)
E) best indicator of violence in juvenile offenders was their level of pre-institutional violence, regardless of any situational factors (deprivations) in the institution.
L) importation model = stronger explanation than the deprivation model

P) practical applications
E) Fischer (2001): isolating known gang members in a special management unit reduced the rates of serious assault by 50%
L) used to reduce prison violence

P) support for dispositional AND situational exp Jiang and Fisher-Giorlando (2002)
E) deprivation model explain violence against prison staff, importation model explain violence against other inmates.
L) both explanations are effective at explaining different forms of institutional aggression.

Question 6

Evaluate the dispositional exp for institutional aggression:
LIMITATIONS

Answer 6

P) evidence against from DeLisi et al 2004)
E) inmates w history of gang membership before imprisonment no more likely than other inmates to engage in prison violence
L) aggressive tendencies not always ‘imported” into institutions
E) BUT, may be bc violent gang members tend to be isolated from the general inmate population, therefore restricting their opportunities for violence.