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.

我分析了减轻囚犯之间潜在暴力对抗的监狱亚文化机构，与霍布斯-津巴多默认的自发暴力形成对比。监狱里比较少玩的游戏是吃鸡等暴力对抗游戏。新来的新囚犯要接受启动测试，将他们分配到不同的亚文化群体中，这表明他们的韧性并抑制战斗。大多数经验丰富的囚犯利用监狱中的语言来培养批判性技能，使用非正式的冲突裁决者，并假装攻击新人。所有囚犯组成防御联盟。最后，当囚犯自残时，他们会遵循经过精心排练的协议，以尽量减少对他们身体的伤害，并最大限度地提高对当局的印象。相关规则的秘密知识，把戏和缺点通过非正式的学校教育代代相传。本研究的材料来自波兰的两所监狱，作者于 1985 年在那里作为政治犯度过了 5 个月。