Doing Time Altered Perception of Time in Prison

Abstract

First published in Examples of Grounded Theory: A Reader, this study developed a grounded theory of “doing time” as the core social-psychological process shaping inmates’ experiences of incarceration. Based on the on in-depth interviews with approximately 35 men, most of whom had served substantial time in maximum security, this grounded theory explains how time becomes problematic under conditions of confinement, abundance of unstructured hours, lack of meaningful activity, and loss of personal autonomy. The process of “doing time” unfolds in stages: an acute adjustment period, fluctuating periods of escape and “hard time,” and a heightened, ambivalent awareness preceding release. Inmates respond by constructing individualized “systems” to neutralize temporal awareness. These strategies organize prison social life and reshape attitudes toward self, society, and the value of time. The concept extends beyond prisons as a trans-situational variable, illuminating analogous experiences among the elderly, military personnel, and others subjected to confinement, excess time, and constrained autonomy.