Boarding schools, orphanages, military branches, juvenile detention, and prisons are examples of total institutions.
A total institution may be defined as a place of residence and work. where a large number of like-situated individuals cut off from the. wider society for an appreciable period of time together lead an. enclosed formally administered round of life (p. 11).
A public university is one example of a total institution. Total institutions use desocialization to destroy old self-concepts of identity.
It is important to note, a physical barrier is a necessary element of a total institution. A gang is a group of individuals; therefore, no physical barrier exists to enclose the individuals in a common space and are not considered to be a total institution according to Goffman.