UNIT 3 Specification. Aggression
Aggression Pack 2
Social-psychological explanations of aggression
Institutional Aggression
 The importation model
 The power of the situation and dehumanising labels
Some quick information about prisons in the UK
Types of Prisons and Categories of Prisoner
There are different types of prisons in the UK. These include open prisons, local prisons, high security
prisons, remand centres, juvenile prisons, holding centres, therapeutic prisons, immigration removal
prisons and secure hospitals
There are approximately 85,000 people in prisons in England and Wales (93% male, 7% female). Each
prisoner is placed in a category. These are:
Category A: Prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or the police or the
security of the state and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible.
Category B – Prisoners for whom the very highest conditions of security are not necessary, but for
whom escape must be made very difficult.
Category C – Prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions, but who do not have the resources
and will to make a determined escape attempt.
Category D – Prisoners who can be reasonably trusted in open conditions.
What are men in prison for?
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26% = violence against the person
14% = drug offences
11% = burglary
11% = robbery
7% = theft/handling stolen property
7% = sexual offences
4% = fraud/forgery
1% = motoring offences
20% = other offences
What are women in prison for?
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19% = violence against the person
16% = drug offences
6% = burglary
7% = robbery
13% = theft/handling stolen property
1% = sexual offences
11% = fraud/forgery
0.3% = motoring offences
25% = other offences
Personal Characteristics of Prisoners
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Average age is 30
79% of men and 80% of women were white
9% of men and 14% of women were black (compared to 2% of UK population)
66% of men and women were single, 23% living with a partner and only 8% married
12% of men and 19% of women had never had a job
54% of men and 33% of women had a job immediately before being imprisoned
58% of men and women were regular truants when they were at school
41% of men and 30% of women had been permanently excluded from school
46% ofThree
men and Models
women hadof
no Why
qualifications
at all
Aggression
Occurs in Prisons
Theory 1
The Importation Model – Fill in the gaps from the power point presentation
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Violence is ______ a product of the institution
Inmates have certain predispositions for violence
These personal characteristics are ________________into the prison
Violence is a product of _____________ ________________of the inmates
Comparison theories (for evaluation only)
The Deprivation Model
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Imprisonment deprives inmates of freedoms, ‘normal’ relationships, comfort, privacy, control etc.
This deprivation causes _________ and _______________
Frustration leads to violence towards other inmates and staff
The Managerial Model
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The decisions made by _________ _____________ can affect aggression in prisons
Inappropriate security measures, improper classification of prisoner, poor training and poor professionalism
can ________________ the number of assaults in prisons
Evidence Supporting the Importation Model
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Many of the inmates’ behaviour are due to the cultural and personal characteristics brought in by the
prisoners on arrival (Irwin and Cressey, 1962)
The researchers suggest that younger inmates are more likely to be aggressive
They suggest that people from impoverished backgrounds will be more aggressive
They suggest that people from different ethnic background will display differing degrees of aggression,
but this may be due to being from different socio-economic backgrounds
Keller and Wang (2005) reported that prison violence occurs in prisons which hold the most
troublesome inmates
Facilities which holding maximum-security inmates had higher levels of assault on staff by inmates
than those in lower-security facilities. Maximum-security prisoners are, by definition, considered
violently dangerous, so the prisoners already have a pre-disposition to aggressive behaviour before
they arrive
Earlier research from 4 different types of juvenile institutions found that pre-institutional violence
was the best predictor for inmate aggression, regardless of the specific features of the institution.
(Poole and Regoli, 1983)
How might the statistics on the first page support the Importation model?
Limitations of the Importation Model
1) This model suggests no practical application on how to manage violent offenders or how to reduce
prison violence in general. (Mc Corkle et al., 1995)
2) A study on 800 violent gang members showed that they were no more or less likely to be violent
once inside prison (DeLisi et al., 2004)
Further Evaluation
1) Comparisons with other theories
How does the importation model differ from?
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Deprivation model

Managerial model
2) Implication and applications of the Importation model
3) IDA – For this theory, use Socially Sensitive Research
Point:
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Explain:
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So What:
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EXPLANATIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL AGGRESSION
Theory 2: The Power of the Situation and Dehumanising Labels
TASK: Fill in the gaps:
The Power of the Situation
Zimbardo (2007) states that the
_______________ that people find
themselves in exerts much influence on
whether people are aggressive to
others. For instance, people who are
usually mild mannered may find
themselves acting ______________ when put in certain situations. It is
therefore the situation, not people’s _______________, that is the
route cause of the aggression. Institutional factors, such as the lack of
___________ ________________ and _________
_____________, increase people’s ___________________ to cause
harm
Dehumanising Labels
Zimbardo argues that
individuals are more likely to
be aggressive to others when
they ________ or
______________ them in
some way. For instance if
someone is labelled as
_____________, Zimbardo
would argue that this
derogatory __________ makes them more likely to be a target of
aggression. Likewise if they are known by a ____________ rather than
a name they are _______________, so are also more likely to be the
target of aggression. In some institutions people are labelled or
dehumanised making aggression ______ _____________
Evaluating the Power of the Situation and Dehumanising Labels:
Research Evidence
TASK:
Start by highlighting from the study below, aspects of the situation that would make aggression more likely
In another colour, highlight examples of aggressive behaviour that arose from the situation
Zimbardo et al (1973) divided his volunteer sample into prisoners and
guards; the 22 male participants, all students, were judged to be in good
mental health before the study began. None of the participants had a history
of anti-social behaviour. After the prisoners were arrested the participants
were installed in a mock prison and given minimal guidance on how to
behave. The prisoners were given smocks to wear and were referred to by
their numbers rather than their names. The study was stopped after six days
owing to the extreme behaviours that occurred. For instance, the guards
became verbally aggressive towards the prisoners, they began to control
prisoner’s behaviour – such as when they could sleep or use the toilet, and
subjected the prisoners to arbitrary demands – even making prisoners clean the toilet with their bare hands.
The prisoners reacted with initial rebellion but then seemed to accept their role and became extremely
passive. After the study, when questioned about their behaviour many of the guards were surprised by how
they acted but attributed their behaviour to the demands of the situation and the role they were given
Which explanation does this study support? (Explain your answer by making direct reference to the
explanation)
How did Zimbardo know that it wasn’t the personality of the participants that led to the behaviour of the
guards?
Comment on the quality of the evidence e.g. factors that affect its validity and how this quality affects the
support the study gives to the explanation
TASK:
Start by highlighting from the study below, aspects of the situation that would make aggression more likely
In another colour, highlight examples of aggressive behaviour that arose from the situation
Bandura et al (1975) told his participants, who were students, that they
would work with another school on a group task. In one condition the
participants overheard an assistant refer to the students from the other school
as “animals” and in a second condition they heard them referred to as “nice”.
When later asked to deliver what they thought were electric shocks to other
students, higher shocks were delivered to those in the animal condition that the
nice condition.
Which explanation does this study support? (Explain your answer by making direct reference to the
explanation)
Comment on the quality of the evidence e.g. its validity and how this quality affects the support the study
gives to the explanation. Think about what the researcher’s did, the sample they used.
Is the research supported by any real-life examples?
TASK: Overall Evaluation of the Theory
Overall, does the research seem to support the theory?
Does the theory give us a full explanation of the behaviour, or can you think of any influences on aggression
that have been ignored? Explain your answer
How might this theory be useful for society? What groups in society may benefit from the outcomes of this
research and how? (think about people in specific jobs)
Can you think of ways in which this theory is similar to and/or differs from the social learning theory of
aggression?
Other IDA