Science for Everybody

Mark value: 2 marks

AO focus: AO1 knowledge and understanding.

Bullet-point answer points

• Recidivism means reoffending.
• The reoffending occurs after an offender has already received a criminal sanction or intervention.

Full model answer

Recidivism occurs when an offender commits further offences after previously receiving a criminal sanction, such as a custodial sentence. It is commonly used to assess whether punishment or rehabilitation has reduced future offending.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Do not simply define recidivism as “crime” or “repeat crime”. Make clear that offending occurs again following an earlier sanction.

Mark value: 4 marks

AO focus: AO1 knowledge and understanding.

Bullet-point answer points

• Identify two aims from deterrence, incapacitation, retribution and rehabilitation.
• Explain what the first aim intends to achieve.
• Explain what the second aim intends to achieve.
• Two developed explanations are better than simply listing all four aims.

Full model answer

One aim is deterrence. The threat or experience of imprisonment is intended to discourage the offender from committing further crime and may also discourage other people who observe the consequences of offending.

A second aim is incapacitation. By removing an offender from the community and restricting their liberty, imprisonment reduces their opportunity to commit offences against members of the general public while they remain in custody.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Do not simply list two aims without explaining them. Also avoid confusing retribution, which concerns deserved punishment, with rehabilitation, which aims to change future behaviour.

Mark value: 4 marks

AO focus: AO1 knowledge and understanding.

Bullet-point answer points

• Identify one psychological effect.
• Suitable examples include stress, depression, institutionalisation or prisonisation.
• Explain how imprisonment could produce the effect.
• Develop the possible consequence for behaviour or adjustment.

Full model answer

One psychological effect is institutionalisation. Prison life is highly structured, with many everyday decisions controlled by the institution. Over a long period, some prisoners may become dependent on these routines and lose confidence in making independent decisions. Consequently, they may struggle after release when they have to organise housing, employment, relationships and everyday life themselves.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Do not simply name a psychological effect. Explain the process through which it develops. If discussing prisonisation, remember that this means adopting prison culture rather than becoming dependent on routines.

Mark value: 6 marks

AO focus: AO2 application supported by AO1 knowledge.

Bullet-point answer points

• Tariq shows prisonisation because he learns the norms and values of experienced prisoners.
• The references to loyalty and attitudes towards authority directly demonstrate prison culture.
• These attitudes may be adaptive inside prison but problematic outside.
• Tariq also shows a failure of deterrence because repeated custody no longer frightens him.
• Institutionalisation could receive credit if clearly linked to difficulty functioning independently.
• His new conviction demonstrates recidivism.

Full model answer

Tariq demonstrates prisonisation because he has adopted aspects of the informal culture of the prison community. Becoming close to experienced offenders and learning rules about loyalty and authority suggests that other prisoners have influenced his attitudes. These behaviours may help someone operate within prison but could cause problems when dealing with employers or authority figures after release.

The scenario also demonstrates a failure of deterrence. Tariq says that prison no longer frightens him, which suggests repeated short custodial sentences have lost their ability to discourage his offending. His later conviction is an example of recidivism and suggests that custody did not produce lasting behaviour change.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Apply every concept directly to Tariq rather than writing generic descriptions. Do not call his reoffending a psychological effect. Recidivism is an outcome used to judge effectiveness.

Mark value: 8 marks

AO focus: AO1 knowledge and AO3 analysis/evaluation.

Bullet-point answer points

• Recidivism means offending continues following punishment.
• High recidivism challenges individual deterrence.
• It also challenges rehabilitation.
• Underlying criminogenic factors may remain unchanged.
• Short sentences may provide insufficient time for rehabilitation.
• Custody may still achieve incapacitation while the offender is imprisoned.
• Custody may also achieve retributive aims regardless of later behaviour.
• Raw reoffending statistics cannot establish causation because offender groups differ.

Full model answer

Recidivism presents a problem because an important justification for custodial sentencing is that it should reduce future offending. If someone leaves prison and commits further offences, individual deterrence has not been fully successful because experiencing custody did not prevent later crime.

High reoffending also questions rehabilitation because the factors associated with the person’s offending may not have changed. Short sentences may be particularly problematic because they provide limited time for psychological treatment or education while still disrupting employment, housing and relationships.

However, recidivism does not mean custody achieved nothing. The sentence may still have successfully incapacitated the offender during imprisonment and could satisfy retributive aims.

Furthermore, raw reoffending rates cannot prove that prison itself causes reoffending. Offenders receiving custodial sentences may have more extensive criminal histories or higher initial risk. Therefore, recidivism is an important but incomplete measure of whether custody is effective.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Do not conclude that high recidivism proves “prison does not work”. Relate reoffending primarily to deterrence and rehabilitation while recognising that incapacitation and retribution are separate aims.

Mark value: 16 marks

AO focus: AO1 knowledge and understanding and AO3 evaluation. Relevant application may also strengthen the response.

Bullet-point answer points

• AO1: Stress and depression can result from loss of freedom, control and social relationships.
• AO1: Institutionalisation means becoming dependent on institutional routines.
• AO1: Prisonisation means adopting prison norms and culture.
• AO1: Recidivism means reoffending after punishment.
• AO3: Bukstel and Kilmann (1980) demonstrate considerable individual variation.
• AO3: Clemmer (1940) provides influential support for prisonisation.
• AO3: Clemmer’s work has limited temporal validity.
• AO3: Classic prison research often contains male and Western sample bias.
• AO3: Random allocation to real imprisonment is normally impossible, limiting causal evidence.
• AO3: Selection bias affects comparisons between offenders receiving different sentences.
• AO3: High reoffending following short sentences challenges rehabilitation and deterrence.
• AO3: Custody may still achieve incapacitation and retribution.
• AO3: A balanced conclusion should consider treatment and post-release support.

Full model answer

Custodial sentencing can produce several psychological effects. Imprisonment removes liberty, privacy and control and may separate prisoners from important relationships. Consequently, some prisoners experience considerable stress, anxiety or depression.

Custody can also lead to institutionalisation. Prison life is highly structured, so some long-term prisoners may become dependent on institutional routines and find independent decision-making difficult following release.

A related but different process is prisonisation. Clemmer described this as adopting the norms and culture of prison life. Prisoners may learn informal rules relating to loyalty, toughness and attitudes towards authority. Although these adaptations may help someone function within prison, they may be less useful following release.

There is evidence that imprisonment affects psychological functioning, although these effects are not uniform. Bukstel and Kilmann reviewed 90 studies and found that some confined individuals deteriorated psychologically, whereas others improved or showed little change. This challenges a deterministic claim that imprisonment inevitably causes psychological harm. Individual vulnerability, crowding and peer-group relationships may influence the outcome.

However, research into real imprisonment is methodologically difficult. Researchers cannot normally randomly allocate real offenders to imprisonment, so much research is correlational. People entering prison may already differ from other members of society in trauma, substance misuse, mental health, offending history or disadvantage. Consequently, establishing cause and effect is difficult.

Classic research also has problems with generalisability. Haney, Banks and Zimbardo’s simulated prison study used a small group of male university students. Although some participants displayed severe distress and rapid behavioural changes, the artificial setting, demand characteristics and ethical problems limit its application to real prisons.

Clemmer’s work also has limited temporal validity because prison systems have changed considerably since 1940. Nevertheless, prisonisation remains an influential concept, suggesting that adapting to institutional cultures continues to have psychological relevance.

Recidivism creates an additional problem because it indicates whether offending continues after punishment. Recent Ministry of Justice statistics reported a 40.6% proven reoffending rate for adults released from custody in the July–September 2024 cohort. For people released following sentences of less than 12 months, the rate was 68.2%. This questions whether short custodial sentences reliably achieve individual deterrence or rehabilitation.

However, these statistics do not prove that imprisonment causes further crime. Offenders given different sentences differ in their criminal histories, risk and circumstances. The Ministry of Justice therefore warns against treating raw differences between sentence groups as direct evidence of sentence effectiveness.

Overall, custodial sentencing clearly achieves some aims. It can incapacitate dangerous offenders and satisfy retributive principles. However, psychological distress, institutionalisation, prisonisation and high levels of recidivism among some groups raise serious questions about long-term effectiveness. Custody is therefore more likely to reduce future offending when imprisonment includes effective psychological treatment, education and strong resettlement support rather than relying on punishment alone.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Avoid producing a purely descriptive answer. A 16-mark discuss question requires sustained evaluation. Do not treat institutionalisation and prisonisation as synonyms. Do not claim that reoffending figures prove prison causes crime. Evaluate classic research critically and finish with a reasoned conclusion.