In a federal correctional institution, cognitive and behavioral variables related to the inmates' loss of freedom and their attempts at reestablishing freedom within the boundaries of the institution were collected. Variables were: (1) personal variables (age, sex, education, etc.); (2) perceptions about life and freedoms in the institution; (3) active pursuit of behavioral freedoms such as furloughs, friendships, and deviant behavior leading to incidents. A number of variables were shown to produce changes in the active use of program activities, which is one measure of behavioral freedom. When one's release date was known, factors such as higher education, higher intelligence, and no history of prior incarceration led to greater behavioral freedom, as well as to higher expectations of privileges or freedoms which should be granted by the institution. Higher age and a history of prior incarceration (when the release date was known) led to generally less behavioral freedom and lower expectations requiring some institutional initiative, suggesting, in some cases, a feeling of helplessness on the part of prisoners. Different interpretations of these results and implications for institutional programs and pre-release counseling are discussed. (Author)