Social Policies (ind) Flashcards
(9 cards)
Sending an offender to psychoanalysis is a social policy based on psychodynamic theories. Explain what is meant by psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud and is a treatment where the ‘patient’ verbalises their thoughts - aiming to access the unconscious, repressed thoughts that are believed to have led to the criminal activity. The assumptions are that any psychological activity, caused during childhood, or repressed trauma, are embedded in the unconscious mind. If they can be brought out, they can be dealt with.
1 point supporting the usefulness/effectiveness of a social policy of psychoanalysis in preventing crime or recidivism.
A study in 2010 concluded that it works as well as or is at least equivalent to other psychotherapy treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy
5 cons of the effectiveness/usefulness of a social policy of psychoanalysis in preventing crime or recidivism
- It is the least favoured in contemporary approaches to working with offenders, it is very time consuming and unlikely to provide quick answers.
- Blackburn (1993) points out that there are very few positive evaluations of classic psychoanalysis as a treatment method with
offenders. - The nature of psychoanalysis creates a power dynamic between the therapist and the client which could raise ethical issues.
- A patient could discover very painful memories which were purposefully repressed.
- Andrews et.al (1990) argue: ‘traditional psychodynamic… therapies are to be avoided within general samples of offenders.’
Behaviour modification is based on behavioural/learning theories. Explain how behaviour modification works.
This is based on behaviourist principles-mainly operant conditioning- if we reinforce something, it will be repeated, if we ignore it, it won’t be repeated and if we punish it, it won’t be repeated. Behaviour modification programmes are widely used in mental health hospitals and with difficult children in schools, but we are interested in how they are used in prisons. Token economies are sometimes used but in prisons, punishment and negative reinforcement are mainly used.
Explain what a token economy is – and why it may form part of a behaviour modification programme.
Token economy programmes are used to obtain desirable behaviour in closed institutions such as prisons, and they are used for juvenile and adult prisoners. They are a form of behaviour modification. These programmes started in the 1960’s, given the success of the use of learning theories in changing behaviour. Tokens are awarded for good behaviour; they are swapped for privileges.
4 points supporting the effectiveness of a social policy of behaviour modification.
- It does not require specialists and is cheap and there is evidence to suggest it is effective.
- It promotes conforming behaviour through rational choice.
- It enables people to earn benefits in exchange for responsible behaviour which encourages prisoners to engage with sentence planning and ensures a more disciplined and controlled environment which is safer for staff and prisoners.
- Hobbs and holt (1976) describe a token economy system which was introduced across 3 young offenders behavioural units, a 4th institution for young offenders acted as a control condition. The token economy groups had seen a significant difference in the amount of positive behaviour.
4 criticisms of the effectiveness/usefulness of a social policy of behaviour modification.
- Basset and Blanchard (1977) suggest the benefit of the token economy system are lost when staff apply the rules inconsistently to lack of training or high staff turnover.
- Offenders are not given the option over whether they participate in the token
economy. - Withdrawal of privileges such as exercise and phone calls with loved ones may also be ethically questionable.
- In order to be effective, important reinforcements need to be controlled, which may violate basic human rights e.g.
restrictions on food, privacy and freedom of movement. This questions the morality of
using the token system.
Explain and assess Social Skills training as a social policy for preventing offending and recidivism.
A 2001 study in the Netherlands on the short-term effects of a social skills training programme for adult inmates found that participation in the training resulted in decreased social anxiety and increased positive feelings in everyday social situations but did not change direct or indirect aggressive behaviour. Individual characteristics did not predict a better training outcome. The participants were 102 male offenders ages 19 to 60 who were
incarcerated at two correctional facilities. participants were assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The effects were evaluated using self-report measures and staff observations 2 weeks after training.
Programmes that include education and employment skills have had more success.
Explain and assess Anger management programmes as a social policy for preventing offending and recidivism
Anger management has been shown to be effective if resourced properly- and often uses cognitive behavioural techniques. Changing thoughts to change feelings to change behaviour- to assist those who have difficulty controlling their anger to deal more effectively with their feelings.
- Research by Ainsworth (2000) and Howitt (2008) provide evidence that it can be effective.
