Do rewards support or thwart autonomy in prison? A survey study into the relationships between rewards, autonomy and self-governance ability

Western prison managements increasingly combine disciplinary and responsabilising techniques to promote behaviour change in incarcerated individuals. Reward systems in prison (RSPs) are clear examples of this. In RSPs, external rewards are provided contingent on compliance with behavioural demands. This paper explores whether (a) rewards are associated with privilege level; (b) rewards are experienced as autonomy-supportive or autonomy-frustrating and (c) to what extent these relationships depend on self-governance ability. These questions are answered using self-report survey data from the Life in Custody study ( N = 1011), collected in nine Dutch prisons. Results indicate that rewards are inconsistently allocated. However, individuals who reported more external rewards also reported significantly more perceived autonomy. Finally, greater self-governance ability was significantly associated with less autonomy frustration when individuals reported more rewards. Multiple recommendations for policy and practice are articulated. Future research should explore (structural and personal) conditions under which external rewards can support autonomy-supportive prisons.