Games prisoners do not play: against the Hobbes-Zimbardo approach of unmitigated prison violence

• Published in: Journal of institutional economics Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 1 - 18
• Main Author: Kaminski, Marek M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Cooperation; Economic theory; Games; Prisoners; Prisons; Self destructive behavior; Subcultures; Violence
• ISSN: 1744-1374; 1744-1382
• DOI: 10.1017/S1744137421000114

Abstract I analyze institutions of prison subculture that mitigate potential violent confrontations among inmates, in contrast to Hobbesian-Zimbardo default spontaneous violence. The games that are relatively rarely played in prison are Chicken and other violent confrontation games. Incoming rookie inmates are subject to initiation tests that allocate them into different subcultural groups, which signals their toughness and disincentivizes fighting. Most experienced inmates develop the eristic skills utilizing prison argot, use informal conflict adjudicators, and fake aggression toward rookies. All inmates form defensive coalitions. Finally, when inmates commit self-injuries, they follow well-rehearsed protocols to minimize the damage to their bodies and to maximize the impression made on the authorities. The secret knowledge of the associated rules, tricks, and cons is passed down over generations of prisoners through informal schooling. The material for this study comes from two Polish prisons, where the author spent 5 months as a political prisoner in 1985.