A03

• * evidence from johnston 1991?

  • found that prison overcrowding leads to increased aggression
  • when there are more people in prison theres more competition for resources
  • so people join gangs in order to get more resources leading to group aggression
  • shows when theres overcrowding & lack of resources in prison
  • leads to aggression in prisoners
• * helps explain why riots occur?

  • in most causes prison riots occur as a result of withdrawal of privileges/lack of reason as to why
  • over 300 prisoners noted the day prior to ban of smoking meant that they were deprived of their goods & services
  • led to them being aggressive in prison setting
  • shows that when prisoners are deprived of goods & services as a situational factor
  • they become aggressive within prison setting
  • showing its environmental rather than dispositional factor causing aggression
• X contradicted by importation model?

  • this is because this model states that aggression in prisons is due to dispositional factors outside of prison that cause aggression to be imported into prison within inmate
  • deprivation model states that its prison environment that causes people to become aggressive
  • this model may be a better explanation for instituitional aggression'
• X better explanations?

  • this model suggested that factors to do with prison environment causes prisoners to be aggressive within institution
  • completely ignores features of person that could cause them to be aggressive
  • better explanations takes into account both situational & dispositional explanations - interactionist model
  • eg diathesis stress model
  • people are predisposed to be aggressive in institution (dispositional) it is situational factors that triggers aggressive behaviour/
  • diathesis stress model may be better suited explanation to take into account more of contributing factors