Anger management

• Who is the main researcher? And what does he suggest?

  -Novaco suggest that cognitive favtors tigger the emotional arousla whihc gnerlaly perceds aggresive acts

  -argument is that some people anger is often quick to surface especially in situations that are perceived to be anxiety-inducing of threatening
• How can behaviourist explain this?

  -becoming angry is reinforced by the individuals feeling of control in situation.

  -A.M programmes are a form of Cbt-the individual is taught how go recognise whne they are losing control and then encouraged to develop techniques which bring our conflict-resolution without the need for violence
• What are the 3 stages?

  -cognitive preparation

  -skill acquisition

  -application practice
• What is cognitive preparation?

  -offenders identify and rationale the patterns of emotions which occur before during and after aggression

  -this helps them to understand and predict why and when they are likely to become angry
• What is skill acquisition?

  -offender learns techniques which can be used to manage their anger and prevent them from spiralling out of control

  -these can include breathing techniques, the use of meditation and positive self talk

  -this is a form of direct learning, where the therapist demonstrates the technique and the offender copies them
• What is application process?


  -offender applies the skills learnt above to a real life situation which would normally trigger anger e.g during a role play

  -their behaviour, if the techniques are successfully implemented, is then positively reinforced by the therapist
• What is one research example?

  -effectiveness of such programmes was demonstrated by keen who studies young offenders aged 17-21

  -who found that the majority of prisoners who'd partaken in the national anger management package were able to control their anger to a greater extent and were more aware of such anger, compared to the beginning of the therapy
• E-Strength-diverse strategy

  -diverse strategy

  -cognitive preparation, behavioural perspective when developing techniques of self management in phase 2

  -multidisciplinary approach acknowledges that offending is complex social and psychological activity
• E-Limitation-comparison with behaviour modification


  -comparison with behaviour modification

  -A.M tries to tackle one of the cause of offending

  -A.M is more likely than behaviour modification to lead to permanent behavioural change and lower rates do recidivism
• E-Limitation-limited long term effectiveness


  -limited long term effectiveness

  -Blackburn anger management may have noticeable effect in the short term there is little evidence that it reduces recidism in the long term

  -may depend on the application process which does not represent the real triggers in relation to life
• E-Limitation-expensive and requires commitment


  -expensive and requires commitment

  -expensive to run as they require the service of highly trained specialist who are used to dealing with violent offenders

  -many prision may not have the resources to fund such programs

  -there is a problem if prisoners are uncooperative and apathetic