INSTITUTION-RELATED CAUSES OF PRISON RIOTS INCLUDE INEPT MANAGEMENT, INADEQUATE PERSONNEL, INADEQUATE FACILITIES, INSUFFICIENT AND INAPPROPRIATE ACTIVITIES, AND INSUFFICIENT LEGITIMATE REWARDS. NONINSTITUTIONAL FACTORS, WHICH MAY HAVE A GREATER INFLUENCE THAN INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS, MUST BE UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE OVERALL SOCIETY. THREE MAJOR VARIABLES -MASS COMMUNICATIONS, INMATE POPULATIONS, AND SOCIAL SITUATIONS -- MUST BE CONSIDERED. PRISON DISORDERS MAY BE THE RESULT OF RISING AND INCONSISTENT EXPECTATIONS ON THE PARTS OF FREE AND CAPTIVE COMMUNITIES. IF PUNISHMENT IS THE PRIME PURPOSE OF PRISONS, THEN FALSE EXPECTATIONS FOR REHABILITATION SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGED. WHATEVER THE COMBINATION OF PUNISHMENT AND REHABILITATION ELEMENTS INCLUDED IN THE CORRECTIONS PROGRAM, THOSE ELEMENTS SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR BOTH TO INMATES AND TO THE FREE COMMUNITY. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--LKM)