Dealing with offending behaviour: the aims of custodial sentencing and the psychological effects of custodial sentencing
Custodial sentencing means sending someone to prison. Courts use it for several different reasons, and imprisonment also has measurable psychological effects on the people inside.
Real World
The Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo, 1973) demonstrated how prison environments can produce psychological disturbance even in mentally healthy volunteers, with 'prisoners' showing extreme anxiety and emotional breakdown within days — illustrating the damaging psychological effects of custodial settings.
Exam Focus
Name all four aims (retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation) then link each to a psychological effect for full AO1 marks.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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