Resocialization

• Characteristics of a total institution:

  • isolation from the outside world
  • entry involves “processing”
  • control by institution and expectations of unquestioning obedience
  • “mortification” of the self
  • de-humanization

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Goffman noted that the purpose of the total institution is to mortify the self that existed outside the institution and create a new self in line with the institution’s requirements. To facilitate this, people are isolated from the outside world. They are processed through entrance as though they were objects- they are given a number, their dress alike; their personal effects are taken away (sometimes permanently, sometimes for a short while); they are given standard clothes and personal care items, etc. In other words, they are objectified, de- humanized. They are disciplined, often in an arbitrary and capricious manner, in order to elicit unquestioning obedience.