De-Individuation

Explaining Institutional Aggression

Institutional aggression refers to violence that arises within and is influenced by institutions such as prisons, psychiatric facilities, or the armed forces. Two contrasting models have been proposed to explain why prisons, in particular, generate high levels of violence among inmates.

The Importation Model

Proposed by Irwin and Cressey (1962), the importation model argues that prisoners bring their pre-existing values, attitudes, and behavioural dispositions from the criminal subculture outside into the prison. Aggression inside therefore reflects the characteristics and social history of the individuals, not the prison environment itself.

Evidence for Importation

DeLisi et al. (2011) studied 831 male inmates in the United States and found that pre-prison gang membership was the strongest single predictor of institutional violence, outperforming measures of prison conditions. Gang members were significantly more likely to commit assault, violence, and rule infractions inside prison.

Harer and Steffensmeier (1996) found that race, age, and prior criminal history predicted prison violence in patterns mirroring violence rates outside prison, suggesting that external demographic and social factors are imported into the institution.

The Deprivation Model

Sykes (1958) argued that it is the conditions of imprisonment — the "pains of imprisonment" — that generate aggression. He identified five key deprivations:

• Liberty — loss of freedom of movement
• Goods and services — limited access to material possessions
• Autonomy — loss of control over daily decisions
• Security — constant threat from other prisoners
• Heterosexual relationships — separation from partners and families

Inmates respond to these deprivations by developing a prison subculture in which violence is a means of gaining status, goods, and protection.

Evidence for Deprivation

McCorkle et al. (1995) studied 371 US state prisons and found that overcrowding, lack of meaningful activity, and lack of privacy were directly associated with increased rates of inmate assault — all aspects of situational deprivation rather than imported characteristics.

However, Poole and Regoli (1983) studied five juvenile institutions and found that pre-institutional violence was the most consistent predictor of in-prison violence, even after accounting for institutional conditions — supporting the importation model over deprivation.

Integration

Contemporary researchers treat the models as complementary rather than competing. Individual characteristics (importation) interact with institutional conditions (deprivation): a gang-affiliated inmate placed in an overcrowded, understimulating prison may be more violent than the same individual in a well-resourced facility. Single-factor models are therefore reductionist.