institutional aggression (prisons) AO3

Question 1

evaluation of dispositional explanation - gang members (strength)

Answer 1

• support for irwin and cressey’s importation model comes from research conducted by drury and delisi
• they fond that men who were members of gangs before they went to prison are more likely to be involved in violent offences whilst in prison
• this provides evidence for irwin and cressey’s argument that prison inmates import their characteristics into prison

Question 2

evaluation of dispositional explanation - ignores key factors (limitation)

Answer 2

• limitation of importation model is that it ignores key factors
• dilulio claims that the importation model ignores other factors that influence prisoner’s behaviour such as the way the prison is run. instead, he proposed an administrative control model which states that poorly managed prisons are more likely to have inmate violence.
• poor management includes weak leadership, a thriving culture of unofficial rules, staff who remain distant from inmates and few opportunities for education
• therefore, importation is an inadequate explanation because institutional factors are probably more important than inmate characterisitics

Question 3

evaluation of the situational explanation - research support (strength)

Answer 3

• strength is research support for the deprivation model
• cunningham et al analysed 35 inmate homicides in texas prisons between 2000 and 2008. they found that the perpetrators’ motivations for their violent behaviours were linked to some of the deprivations identified in clemmer’s model.
• many of the homicides followed arguments between cell-sharing inmates, where ‘boundaries’ were judged to have been crossed. particularly important were arguments over drugs, sexual activity and personal possessions.
• these factors are identified by the deprivation model, supporting the model’s validity.

Question 4

evaluation of the situational explanation - contradictory research (limitation)

Answer 4

• research contradicting the deprivation model
• harer and steffensmeir (1996) found that age, race and criminal background were the only variables that affected levels of aggression of inmates. this strongly argues for the importation model, not the deprivation model
• therefore this suggests that situational factors do not substantially affect prison violence