1. Explanations of institutional aggression

2. objectives Understand what is meant by institutional aggression Explain potential causes of institutional aggression Understand how to evaluate theoretically the explanations for institutional aggression.

3. Human aggression occurs at interpersonal and institutional levels

4. Institutional aggression Police Security services Military Criminal and terrorist groups (those bound together by a common person to be aggressive) Explanations consider 2 different forces 1. situational 2. dispositional (individual)

5. Institutional aggression may occur within groups or between different groups

6. The origins of institutional aggression Situational factors Dispositional factors

7. The importation model - dispositional Irwin and Cressey (1962) Prisoners bring their own social histories and traits into prison.

8. The deprivation model - dispositional Paterline and Peterson (1999) Prisoner or patient aggression is due to stressful and oppressive conditions of the institution – crowding, noise etc.

9. Hazing Institutional bullying based on a tradition to discipline junior members and maintain a strict pecking order.

10. Situational forces Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment See worksheet 5. and complete first part

11. ‘John Wayne’ Was it his upbringing? He came from a middle-class, academic family. He was a musician. He described himself as a person who lived a natural life, loved music, food and other people. In the psychological screening prior to the experiment, he showed no preference to be a guard or a prisoner. See worksheet 5. Discuss how the findings of the Stanford Prison experiment give evidence for situational and dispositional factors in aggressive behaviour.

12. Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoners of war were subjected to degrading treatment. (see video) Zimbardo was an expert witness and defended one of the prison guards. What might his argument have been?

13. Key factors Status and power: Those involved were army reservists on a night shift (bottom of the barrel). They were trying to demonstrate power and control. There was no superior officer checking on them.

14. Key factor 2 Revenge and retaliation: revenge for hurting and killing fellow US soldiers. Humiliating prisoners was a way of ‘teaching them a lesson’.

15. Key factor 3 Deindividuation and helplessness of the situation: the Mardi Gras effect – ‘living for the moment behind a mask that conceals one’s identity and gives vent to libidinous, violent and selfish impulses’. In response to the situation without planned conspiracy or negative reasoning. The barrel is bad rather than the apples. The blame is placed on the ‘system’ or situation.

16. Individualistic (dispositional) causes This attributes the cause of cruelty to the person e.g. the abuses at Abu Ghraib were carried out by ‘a few bad apples’. This suggests that there are aspects of a person’s disposition that make them more likely to perform aggressive actions than others.

17. Consider Which explanation, situational or dispositional, incurs the most sympathy for the offender (person who has done the cruel thing)? Explain your answer. When a police officer does something wrong how is it usually explained?

18. Evaluation of explanations of institutional aggression Bernard’s angry aggression theory Factors such as chronic stress of police work increase the aggressive nature of responses that police make. Bernard refers to a ‘police subculture’. Police aggression is seen as ‘just’, ‘acceptable’ and even ‘expected’.

19. This is because The working environment of most police officers is mainly structured by codes of deviance, secrecy, silence and cynicism. (Bernard) The general strain theory (Robert Agnew) suggests that negative experiences and stress generate negative affective states. These may lead to violent behaviour if there are no coping strategies in place.

20. Complete next part of Sheet 5. Negative relationships with others brings strain. Strain occurs when people feel they are not being treated appropriately. A subsequent disbelief in the role of others will occur. Anger and frustration results from negative relationships.

21. Consider the question How might dispositional and situational factors be applied to explaining terrorism?

22. Terrorism Black (2004) ‘pure terrorism is unilateral self help by organised civilians who covertly inflict mass violence on other civilians’. Black believes the root cause is a culture clash.

23. Situation or disposition? Barak (2004) argues for disposition for suicide terrorists: Shame Esteem Repressed/suppressed anger

24. Situation or disposition Deflem (2004) argues for situation Opposition to free markets, liberal democracy and associated Western norms. Contemporary terrorism represents contrasting balance of power – family, ethnicity and religion.

25. Compare with street violence Young males who participate in street violence in a gang or gun culture are often Economically and politically marginalised. Is this an argument in support of situation or disposition?

26. However, The background of many of the 9/11 terrorists, and the 7/7 bombers were university educated and came from supportive and often affluent families.

27. Problems for research It is difficult to research terrorist action. An analysis of historical actions of terrorist groups gives insight into the way groups work. BUT Terrorist action is often unique There is a lack of empirical data for each terrorist event. There is not really a ‘typical terrorist’ as groups are now more fluid and increasingly globally mobile.