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Islands have often been used to exile political prisoners, migrants, criminals, mentally ill individuals, and others deemed unworthy. Yet the remoteness that made islands ideal prison sites is today exploited to develop nature-based ecotourism (NBET). Given the ‘prison to paradise’ phenomenon is previously undocumented in the literature, this paper explores three descriptive cases in the Global South: Ecuador (Galápagos Islands), Panamá (Coiba Island), and Colombia (Gorgona Island). This analysis identifies how the timelines of prison activities and the manifestations of tourism are influenced by contextual factors that determine whether carceral heritage is being preserved or overwritten in each context. The paper also highlights further opportunities to elaborate on this nascent theory and emphasise specific roles for archaeologists in that future research agenda. This work will appeal to scholars interested in dark heritage, prison tourism, island studies, and protected area managers involved with heritage preservation around former prison sites.
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Dehumanizing Prisoners: Remaining Sentence Duration Predicts the Ascription of Mind to Prisoners
We tested the novel hypothesis that the dehumanization of prisoners varies as a function of how soon they will be released from prison. Seven studies indicate that people ascribe soon-to-be-released prisoners greater mental sophistication than those with more time to serve, all other things being equal. Studies 3 to 6 indicate that these effects are mediated by perceptions that imprisonment has served the functions of rehabilitation, retribution, and future deterrence. Finally, Study 7 demonstrates that beliefs about rehabilitation and deterrence may be the most important in accounting for these effects. These findings indicate that the amount of time left on a prison sentence influences mind ascription to the incarcerated, an effect that has implications for our understanding of prisoner dehumanization.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1748461
- PAR ID:
- 10547165
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Volume:
- 46
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 0146-1672
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1614-1627
- Size(s):
- p. 1614-1627
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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