The Psychology of Punishment and Imprisonment 2751-MON-PKW

Class issues:
1. Penitentiary psychology as a branch of applied psychology
a. What is and what does psychology do? Fields of research psychology and applied psychology
b. Status of penitentiary psychology. Penitentiary psychology and forensic psychology
c. Goals and areas of interest in penitentiary psychology
d. Relationships of penitentiary psychology with other disciplines
2. Psychology of punishment - punishment, damage repair, rehabilitation. Reactions to penalties
a. Punishments and rewards as the primary focus of behavioral psychology
b. Determinants of the effectiveness of the penalty
c. Characteristics and types of criminal penalties
d. Functions of the criminal penalty
e. Theories of criminal punishment - goals of punishment
f. Imprisonment as the most typical form of criminal punishment
3. General characteristics of prison. Types of prisons
a. Prisons in the pre-modern era
b. Modern and contemporary penitentiary systems
c. Polish penitentiary institutions
d. Systems of serving the sentence of imprisonment in Poland
4. Psychological consequences of imprisonment
a. Afflictions of imprisonment - a form of deprivation related to imprisonment
b. Psychological processes accompanying imprisonment
c. Imprisonment as a difficult situation
d. Stress accompanying imprisonment and how prisoners deal with it
e. The phases of imprisonment
f. Prisoners' adaptation strategies
g. Time while incarcerated
5. Prison as a total institution
a. Characteristics and types of total institutions
b. The world of subordinates in a total institution
c. The world of staff in a total institution
d. Stanford prison experiment - an example of psychological reactions of people after being placed in a total institution
6. Socialization and rehabilitation. Forms of penitentiary interactions
a. Psychological models of criminal acts
b. The social rehabilitation function of the criminal punishment
c. Socialization and social competences acquired. Types of socialization and principles of socialization
d. Rehabilitation - is it there and what are its relations with socialization
e. Psychological paradigms of rehabilitation
f. Social rehabilitation interactions according to the Polish Executive Penal Code
g. Means of social rehabilitation
h. Psychological barriers to the effectiveness of penitentiary social rehabilitation interactions
i. Back to crime - recidivism
7. Diversification of the prisoner community. Prison subcultures

Total student workload

50 hours

Learning outcomes - knowledge

W1: Has knowledge on the basics of penitentiary and social rehabilitation psychology. W2: Knows various forms of punishment for criminal acts, their limitations and goals they are supposed to achieve.

Learning outcomes - skills

U1: Uses his/her knowledge to evaluate and effectively use various forms of social rehabilitation. U2: Can recognize attitudes and mental states characteristic of prisoners and adequately respond to them.

Learning outcomes - social competencies

K1: Is aware of ethical dilemmas associated with punishment. K2: Notices the complexity of the imprisonment situation and variety of reactions to it, being able to adequately interpret behavior of people subjected to imprisonment

Teaching methods

- informative lecture (conventional) - problem lecture

Expository teaching methods

- problem-based lecture
- informative (conventional) lecture

Type of course

elective course

Prerequisites

none

Course coordinators

Wiktor Szewczak

Assessment criteria

Assessment methods and criteria Assessment methods:
- written final test - W1, W2, U1, U2, K1, K2

Assessment criteria:
Final test - 3 open questions, the answer to each of them is scored on a 0-10 point scale (maximum number of points - a total of 30 points)
Assessment:
0-14.5 points - unsatisfactory (2)
15-18 points - satisfactory (3)
18.5-20.5 points - a sufficient plus (3.5)
21-24 points - good (4)
24.5-26.5 points - good plus (4.5)
27-30 points - very good (5)

Practical placement

n.a.

Bibliography

Primary literature:
Psychologia penitencjarna, pod red. M. Cioska i B. Pastwy-Wojciechowskiej, PWN, Warszawa 2016.
M. Ciosek, Psychologia sądowa i penitencjarna, Wydawnictwa Prawnicze PWN, Warszawa 2000.
R. Poklek, Zarys psychologii penitencjarnej. Pomiędzy teorią a praktyką, Wydawnictwo Difin, Warszawa 2018.
R. Poklek, Instytucjonalne i psychospołeczne aspekty więzienia, Centralny Ośrodek Szkolenia Służby Więzienne, Kalisz 2010.

Facultative readings:
D.A. Crighton, G.J. Towl, Psychology in prisons, Blackwell Publishing, Malden – Oxford – Carlton 2008.
Applying psychology to imprisonment: Theory and practice, red. B.J. McGurk, D.M. Thornton, M.E. Williams, Stationery Office Books, London 1987.
B. Waligóra, Funkcjonowanie człowieka w warunkach izolacji więziennej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań 1974.
Kryminologiczne i penitencjarne aspekty wykonywania kary pozbawienia wolności, pod red. M. Kuć, Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, Lublin 2008.
J. Szostak, Psychologia sądowa. Podstawowe zagadnienia, Wyższa Szkoła Handlu i Prawa im. R. Łazarskiego, Warszawa 2002.
N. Olszewska, Pudło. Opowieści z polskich więzień, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 2020.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2751-MON-PKW in USOSweb