Abstract
The key jingler is the staff person in any institution who uses his power in a manner that is debilitating to the inmates. He is a confidence man, bureaucrat, buck passer, someone putting up a front. Quite often it is the norms of the institution that impose this kind of behavior on the staff. The key jingling process then serves to place the inmate in a double bind, cool him out or institutionalize him into the system. The thoughts on the double bind process, cooling out process, and dysfunctional bureaucracy merge into one concept of key jingling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bateson, Gregary, Jackson, Don, D., Haley, Jay, & Weakland, John. Toward a theory of schizophrenia. In Smelzer & Smelzer (Eds.),Personality and social systems. New York: John Wiley, 1963. Pp. 172–187.
Clark, Burton R. The ‘cooling-out’ function in higher education.American Journal of Sociology, 1956, 65, 569–576.
Goffman, Erving.Asylums. New York: Doubleday, 1961.
Goffman, Erving.The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday, 1959.
Gouldner, Alvin W. Red tape as a social problem. In Merton, Gray, Hockey & Selvin (Eds.),Reader in bureaucracy. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1952. Pp. 410–18.
Homans, George C.The human group. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1950.
Konopka, Gisela. Social group work and mental health. New York: National Association of Social Workers, 1957.
Merton, Robert K. Bureaucratic structure and personality.Social Forces, 1940, 17, 560–568.
Parsons, Talcott. Role conflict and the genesis of deviance. In Stein & Cloward (Eds.),Social perspectives on behavior. New York: Doubleday, 1962. Pp. 248–50.
Additional information
Mr. Hartman, a social worker, is assistant professor of social work at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich., in the group work sequence, having a student field unit placed at a state mental hospital.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hartman, C. The key jingler. Community Ment Health J 5, 199–205 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463950
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463950