A form of cognitive behavioural treatment in which (violent) offenders are encouraged to recognise what triggers their anger, as well as being taught techniques to help them regulate their behaviour
Anger management approach
Assumes that anger is one possible cause of offending behaviour
AaronBeck's Cognitive Triad
Beck proposed that good mental health is the result of rational/prosocial thinking
He argued that there are common irrational/anti-social beliefs that explain the way people act
People who commit crimes have irrational/anti-social beliefs about the world eg schema of personalentitlement or self-dominance, misinterpret social cues as potential threats
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Anger management training is an application of CBT
CBT is a type of therapy used to treat many different forms of mental health disorders
Therapist will explore beliefs that are linked to their criminal involvement - the job is to identify potential influencing beliefs/schemata used in their reaction to events
Help the patient by challenging what they think (belief aspect of the therapy)
Help the patient change the way they act to improve the symptoms they are having (consequence part of the therapy)
Based on the understanding that the way we think affects how we feel, and how we feel influences how we behave
If a person changes the way they think (belief), their behaviour should also change (consequence)
If they change a negative/irrational belief to a positive/rational one, then there will be positive consequences
Anger management
Assumes that the offenders inability to control their anger is the root cause of offending
Raymond Novaco (1975) suggests that some offenders are more likely to see certain situations as threatening and stressful, and this leads them to react aggressively or violently, rather than rationally
The offender's appraisal of a situation acts as a trigger for anger, and so is cognitive in nature
From a behaviourist perspective, anger is reinforced by the offender's feelings of control that anger gives them in that situation
Therefore, we can see that anger results from cognitive and behavioural problems, so treatment needs to tackle both
Anger management treatment
1. Cognitive preparation
2. Skill acquisition
3. Application and Practice
Cognitive preparation
Working with a trained therapist, the offender reflects on situations that have triggered their anger in the past and considers whether they could have reacted differently
Eg an individual who typically becomes violent if someone makes physical contact with them at a busy bar is encouraged to redefine the situation as non-threatening (by rationalising that the person may have been pushed themselves)
In this way, events that may have been 'flashpoints' in the past are gradually perceived more rationally
Skill acquisition
Offenders use a total range of behavioural techniques to help them cope more effectively with anger provoking situations
These may be quite simple steps, eg counting to 10 to temper our reaction to a stressful event
This kind of self-talk promotes calmness rather than aggression, and is likely to become an automatic response if practised regularly
Some behavioural strategies deal with the physiology of anger, such as meditation and deep breathing
The aim is to control one's emotions rather than being controlled by them
Application and Practice
The therapist devises situations in which the offender is able to demonstrate the skills they have been taught
One way this is achieved is by reconstructing events when the offender lost control in the past
Eg the offender and the therapist could simulate the condition of queueing at a bar for a drink
Eg by deliberately provoking the offender by pushing them from behind whilst 'at the bar'
This is to test whether the new techniques have been internalised
H/E it's a roleplay and the offender knows it's not real
JaneIreland (2004) Investigated anger management within an institutional setting
Procedure in Ireland's study
1. Offenders were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 conditions
2. One group received a cognitivebehaviouralangermanagement treatment program, similar to that described above
3. The second group received no treatment until later, acting as a waitlist control group
4. The treatment group were given 12 sessions of anger management and there were 3 measures of progress
5. These were an interview and a questionnaire for participants and a behaviour checklist completed by the prison staff
6. Data for all of these measures was gathered two weeks before and eight weeks after treatment
Individual differences in effectiveness of anger management
Anger management works best with people who have a history of violent offending
Offenders who do not display 'treatment of readiness' are unlikely to benefit from therapy
Unless offenders admit there is a problem and accept the need for change, then anger management has limited effectiveness
Strength of anger management
It addresses different aspects of offending behaviour - the therapy is an interdisciplinary approach that works on a number of different levels: cognitive (phase 1), behavioural (phase 2), and social (phase three) during role-play
This acknowledges the fact that offending is a complex psychological activity that requires an eclectic approach to treatment
Weakness of anger management
The shortterm nature of the study - Ireland's investigation assessed after 8 weeks, may not be sufficient time to realistically evaluate the effectiveness of similar programs, especially once an offender is released from the institutional setting
Questionable whether Ireland's study is a good indicator of how effective anger management would be in the longterm
Anger management may be seen as a form of socialcontrol