Psychologists

History

To understand the role of psychologists within prisons, it is useful to first consider psychology and its historical development more generally. Psychology has its roots in two disciplines—physiology and philosophy, in which the former led to psychologists' interest in the brain and nervous system, while the latter inspired their concern with human thinking, emotion, and behavior. Psychology is said to have emerged as a separate discipline in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt, who trained in philosophy and medicine, opened the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. Here, Wundt set out to investigate the mind through the application of scientific methods using a process termed “introspection.” This involved the careful training of researchers who then analyzed their own thinking (sensations, images, and emotional reactions) under laboratory conditions.

Wundt's approach was challenged in the early 20th century. Critics were particularly concerned with the subjective nature of introspection, because its accuracy could not be verified by another person. In 1914, American psychologist John B. Watson argued that introspection should be replaced with “behaviorism.” This form of psychology allowed more than one person to observe and measure another's behavior under scientific conditions.

Psychology has since expanded into a number of different branches with varying theoretical and treatment orientations. However, the influence of Wundt and Watson can be seen today in two important psychological approaches:cognitivism, which is concerned with mental processes, and behaviorism, which focuses upon observable behavior. Each leads to different treatment strategies. The former involves methods such as therapy, which attempt to address cognitions, and the latter uses techniques designed to modify behavior, such as conditioning. Although these two models have generally been regarded as competing and irreconcilable, recent attempts have been made to merge them into a new type of psychology referred to as cognitive behavioralism. This approach, which essentially argues that a person's thinking or cognition affects their emotions and behavior, is central to a number of current prison programs. Such programs underpin “what works” initiatives—purportedly evidence-based correctional policy and practices—in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

Prison Psychology

Psychologists first became involved in prisons in the field of classification. Using psychometric tools designed to measure individual differences, they sought to manage prisoners more rigorously than before. The data collected from these different measures also informed different kinds of research, such as the prediction of parole success.

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