 Research Problem  Research Question  Literature Review  Methodology  Future Direction  Beyond the Project  Questions

Social and economic ramifications:  Bureau of Justice (2008) › 27% increase in inmate-on-inmate violence › 32% increase in inmate-on-staff violence › 52% of inmates in state prisons are incarcerated for violent offenses  “Prisons are microcosms of free society.” –Dr. Gaston

 Taxes (Gaes, 2008) › Vocational classes lowered taxpayer costs by $6,806 per inmate › General education classes lowered taxpayer costs by $5,306 per inmate  Safer prison conditions (Gendreau & Keyes, 2001; Lovell & Jemelka, 1996)

Economic and Social Research Council recommends programs that:  Teach prisoners to consider negative consequences of their actions  Broaden perspectives  Teach prisoners to see “ the big picture” Such programs will dramatically reduce violent behaviors.

 Education has been shown in several studies to have an effect on violent acts. A higher education generally correlates to reduced violence  Education also affects recidivism rates. (French and Gendreau, 2006; Gaes, 2008) But what changes in a person? What makes them less violent?

Will various treatment programs within a county prison or jail alter inmate beliefs in favor of nonviolence?

 Which programs develop a statistically significant increase in nonviolent beliefs?  Which aspects of these influential programs are responsible for this change?

 Drive and social learning theories › Bandura’s Bobo dolls:  “Most human behavior is learned observationally through models” (Bandura, 1977) Violent behavior is learned!

The Effect of Education on Adolescents - Frey, Ruchkin, Martin & Schwab-Stone, 2008 Increased educational attachment and involvement = decrease in the number of delinquent acts and violent beliefs We hope that these findings could be similar in a prison population Less Violence Creates a Safer Prison Environment - Gendreau & Keyes, 2001; Lovell & Jemelka, 1996 Less violence allows facility staff to focus on rehabilitation

 Completing one or more treatment programs will shift a prisoner’s beliefs in favor of nonviolence.  Null hypothesis: There is no relationship between treatment programs and beliefs held by prisoners.

Obtain access to a county prison and obtain volunteers Administer NVT Treatment Programs Re-administer N VT Determine which classes had the largest statistical change in NVT scores Commonalities determined

 Assesses attitudes and behaviors through a 65 question survey  Each question requires the student to choose between a nonviolent and violent option in various situations  Least violent score: 36  Most violent score: 0  Studies have rated NVT to have highest validity

 Experimental groups will participate in classes offered by the facility  Control group consists of inmates who are enrolled in zero classes  Two groups are not limited in size and are not expected to be equal

 Currently: › Thesis proposal › Submit for IRB › Making contact with prison staff  Summer & Fall 2009: › Data Collection  Spring 2010: › Analysis - statistician › Possibly draft exercises › Start Drafting Thesis  Fall 2010 & Spring 2011 › Thesis Paper and Thesis Defense

 Hope to find beliefs of prisoners have changed  Efficacy of possible exercises  Reduction of recidivism