Think About Our Prison Systems

question 82

Essay

Think about our prison systems. Many folks think the role of the prison system is to punish people who break the law, and that we should have more prisons to punish more people. But let's look at what happens to the average burglar. If (s)he is caught, (s)he will probably not go to trial for a year or two and then is likely to get probation or a light sentence. If (s)he does go to prison, (s)he is unlikely to learn any useful skills and will meet other criminals who will probably not be good role models. Additionally, (s)he may not end up serving his/her entire sentence due to overcrowding conditions in prisons. Given what you know about operant learning principles, reinforcement, and punishment, critique the way our current prison system works and suggest some better ideas. Be sure to be specific about the principles that you have learned from our textbook.

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Definitions:

Present-Day Continents

The seven large landmasses on Earth as they exist currently, shaped by geological and environmental processes over millions of years.

Closely Related

Describes organisms that share a significant amount of genetic information due to recent common ancestry.

Cladogram

A diagram depicting the evolutionary relationships between different groups of organisms, showing how they diverged from a common ancestor.

Lines of Descent

The lineage or genealogical sequence tracing the transmission of genetic traits from ancestors to descendants.