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The key jingler

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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.

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Authors

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.

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Hartman, C. The key jingler. Community Ment Health J 5, 199–205 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463950

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01463950

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