Anger management

Question 1

What is the theory behind anger management?

Answer 1

Cognitive factors -> emotional arousal (anger) -> aggressive acts
Becoming angry is reinforced because the individual feels control in the situation when they become angry

Question 2

Who proposed the theory of anger management?

Answer 2

Novaco (1975)

Question 3

Anger management is a type of what?

Answer 3

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Question 4

What are the aims of anger management?

Answer 4

• Recognise anger triggers
• Develop techniques to bring about conflict-resolution with the need for violence
• Can be used as part of the custodial sentence and outside of prison (probation)

Question 5

How is anger management conducted?

Answer 5

In small groups that last around 10 sessions

Question 6

Anger management is based on which approach?

Answer 6

The stress incoculation approach, which aims to provide a kind of vaccination against future ‘infections’

Question 7

Name the three stages of anger management

Answer 7

1. Cognitive preparation
2. Skill acquisition
3. Application practice

Question 8

What does the stage ‘cognitive preparation’ entail?

Answer 8

The offender learns to recognise their triggers for anger
The therapist can also carefully challenge irrational interpretations of events that trigger anger

Question 9

What does the stage ‘application practice’ entail?

Answer 9

The offender applies new skills in role play situations
Successful negotiation is met by positive reinforcement from the therapist
Later, offenders can try out their skills in real world settings
This should facilitate rehabilitation and reduce the likelihood of reoffending

Question 9

What does the stage ‘skill acquisition’ entail?

Answer 9

Techniques and skills are learned to deal with the anger-provoking situations more rationally and effectively eg: positive self-talk, more effective communication, relaxation methods, meditation etc

Question 10

What are 2 strengths of anger management?

Answer 10

1. Research support - Ireland (2004) found significant improvements in an experimental group who had 12 one-hour anger management sessions, when reassesed 8 weeks after baseline measures
   No changes in the control group over that time period
   This suggests that anger management programmes are successful in reducing anger in offedners in the short term
2. Anger management has advantages to behaviour modification - Rather than focusing on superficial surface behaviour, it attempts to address the though processes that underlie offending behaviour
   Anger management may give offenders new insights into the cause of their criminality, enabling them to self-discover new ways of managing themselves outside of prison
   Therefore, it is logical to assume that anger management is more likely than behaviour modification to lead to permanent behavioural change and lower rates of recidivism

Question 11

What are 2 limitations of anger management?

Answer 11

1. Expensive and requires more commitment - They are expensive to run because they require highly trained specialists who are used to dealing with violent offenders
   Many prisons don’t have the resources to fund such programmes
   Additionally, its success relies on the commitment of those who participate, and this may be a problem in offenders who are uncooperative and apathetic
2. May not be effective in the long term - Blackburn pointed our that whilst anger management may have a noticeable effect on the conduct of offenders in the short-term, there is very little evidence that it reduces recidivism in the long term
   This may be because the application stage of treatment relies heavily on role play which may not reflect all of the possible triggers in a real-life situation