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COM205: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION REVIEW / BEST RATED THIS YEAR
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COM205: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION REVIEW / BEST RATED THIS YEAR
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ESTUDY1
COM205: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
REVIEW / BEST RATED THIS YEAR
Cultural Analysis: Reflection
A Look Into Prison Culture
Oregon Institute of Technology
COM205: Intercultural Communication
Professor Andrea McCracken
,ESTUDY
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A Reflection on Prison Culture: Introduction
In my initial report, I introduced the concept that culture is something we learn and continue to
acquire over time. According to Myron Lustig and Jolene Koester, culture is defined as “a learned
set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, norms, and social practices, which affect the
behaviors of a relatively large group of people” (Lustig & Koester, 2013). Individuals develop
their cultural identity based on their environment and the people around them. From this definition,
I interpret that a person‟s cultural identity can change and adapt. Even as it changes, individuals
continue to carry pieces of the cultures they were previously part of.
As someone pursuing a career in psychology, I have always been fascinated by how individuals
change and adapt to their surroundings. This adaptation can sometimes resemble a “survival
mode.” For this assignment, I wanted to explore a culture that illustrates the fluidity of cultural
identity. It didn‟t take long to realize that a prevalent culture encapsulating this idea of a changing
cultural identity is found within prisons.
When someone is incarcerated and sent to prison, they are removed from the routines and cultures
they have grown accustomed to. Prisons are state and federal correctional facilities for housing
convicted felons serving sentences longer than one year. Given the extended time inmates spend in
prison, they inevitably adapt to the systems, practices, customs, and social orders that surround
them. This adaptation often leads to an identity crisis or change, which can be attributed to prison
culture. John Wooldredge, a criminal justice sociologist, defines prison culture as “the social
manifestations of how inmates adapt to a specific prison environment in light of their
backgrounds” (Wooldredge, 2020). Despite their diverse backgrounds, inmates are forced to
abandon their previous cultures and adjust to the prison community, isolated from the outside
world.
Within prison walls, there are specific unspoken rules and social orders that all inmates are
expected to follow. These often include barter systems, means of communication, and social
isolation based on the nature of one‟s crime or sentence length. In such an environment,
individuals may discard significant aspects of their previous identities to survive. This change
exemplifies “survival mode,” often leading to a shift in personal goals, the abandonment of former
beliefs, and altered social behaviors. After enough time in prison, inmates inevitably become part
of the prison culture, leading to a transformation in their cultural identity.
A Reflection on Prison Culture: Cultural Reflection and Comparison
Due to the culture that I chose, my cultural engagement was not based on first-person
experiences. Though I was unable to insert myself directly into the day-to-day functioning of
prison culture, I was able to observe the culture through the first-hand experiences of others and
detailed research. These experiences included reading letters written by current and former
inmates, watching reality television shows and documentaries, listening to relevant TED talks,
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and conducting in-depth research on the concept and idea of prison culture.
Geert Hofstede engaged in and conducted a significant amount of research on cultural
identity and how culture affects things such as the workplace. Through this research, he
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