Deviance and Society : Clinical, criminal and social psychological perspectives

Teacher(s)

Willemsen Jochem; Woltin Karl-Andrew;

Language

English
> French-friendly

Main themes

Deviance and Society : Clinical, criminal and social psychological perspectives

Content

This course will familiarise students with a psychological perspective on deviance in different senses of the word, with a focus on clinical and social psychological approaches. The course is organised around the following topics:
(1) Crime and contemporary society. Crime is presented as a typical human phenomenon. The relationship between crime and law is analyzed from a psychological point of view through the concept of conscience. A link is made with ‘institutionalized conscience,’ as in the panoptic model and the contemporary surveillance society.
(2) Psychological approaches to (sexual) crimes. Pathway models of (sexual) crime are presented and illustrated. The psychological factors related to the etiology of crime are discussed (affect regulation, trauma, personality disorders, deviant fantasies).
(3) Psychological approaches to treatment and rehabilitation of criminals. The role of the psychologist in the process of rehabilitation of the criminal and the prevention of crime will be clarified. The notions of dangerousness, recidivism and “desistance” will be elaborated.
(4) Dealing with deviance and dissent in groups. Models, theories and approaches seeking to explain how people react to deviance and dissent in groups will be presented and discussed (e.g., black sheep effect, ostracism, stereotypes and prejudice). Here the focus in on motivations and pressure that make people conform, with deviance reflecting a lack of group loyalty, as signs of disengagement, or as delinquent behavior.
(5) Deviance and dissent as a positive source.  Models, theories and approaches that highlight positive contributions of deviance and dissent in groups will be presented and discussed (e.g., minority influence, diversity, strategic deviance). Here the focus is on understanding deviance and dissent as normal and healthy aspects of group life.

Teaching methods

Lectures, excursion (circumstances permitting), debate and student presentations.
Course language is English.

Evaluation methods

The evaluation is intended to measure the achievement of the intended learning outcomes. It will take several forms as detailed below. You will be provided with information regarding details of the exam and the individual written assignments in the first class. Please refer to the evaluation grids and instructions (on Moodle) for more details on the assignments.

• Learning outcome A1-A2 : 12/20 and thus 60% of the final grade
  Oral exam (50% covering the clinical psychological content and 50% covering the social psychological content) without preparation time and without notes
• Learning outcome B1-D3 & E & F1: 4/20 and thus 20% of the final grade
  Presentation of a case study (clinical psychology)
• Learning outcome C & F1: 4/20 and thus 20% of the final grade
  Oral presentation of a scientific article (group work; social psychology) - this will be in part graded by peer-evaluation

All pieces of coursework have to be submitted (but not necessarily passed) and participation in the exam (though not necessarily passing it) is obligatory to pass this course.
The evaluation will be the same for all sessions; passed parts of the evaluation (i.e., the case study and/or the presentation) will remain valid during the academic year.
The pieces of coursework can be submitted in English or French and also the exam will take place either in English or French (as students prefer).

Online resources

See Moodle for all slides and several scientific articles.
An electronic version of the main book for the social psychology part of the course is available via the library.

Bibliography

This is a selection of readings for the Clinical and Criminal Psychology part of the course
(a detailed bibliography will is available on Moodle for each lecture separately)
Foucault, M. (1975/1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage Books.
Hare, R. D. (2016). Psychopathy, the PCL-R and criminal justice: Some new findings and current issues. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 57(1), 21-34.
Gunst, E., Watson, J. C., Desmet, M., & Willemsen, J. (2017). Affect regulation as a factor in sex offenders. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 37, 210-219.
Taylor, P. J., & Estroff, S. (2014). Psychosis, violence and crime. In: John Gunn & Pamela J. Taylor (eds.), Forensic Psychiatry: Clinical, legal and ethical issues (pp. 333-366), CRC Press.
Koenraadt, F., McGauley, G., & Willemsen, J. (2018). Forensic psychotherapy in forensic mental health. In K. Goethals (ed.), Forensic psychiatry and psychology in Europe: A cross-border study guide (pp. 165-180). Springer.
This is a selection of readings for the Social Psychology part of the course
(a detailed bibliography is be available on Moodle for each lecture separately)
Anvari, F., Wenzel, M., Woodyatt, L., & Haslam, S. A. (2019). The social psychology of whistleblowing: An integrated model. Organizational Psychology Review, 9, 41-67.
Dungan, J., Waytz, A., & Young, L. (2015). The psychology of whistleblowing. Current Opinion in Psychology, 6, 129-133. 
Hornsey, M. J. (2016). Dissent and deviance in intergroup contexts. Current Opinion in Psychology, 11, 1-5.
Jetten, J. & Hornsey, M. J. (2014). Deviance and dissent in groups. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 461-85.
J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Marques, J. M., Abrams, D., Paez, D., & Hogg, M. A. (2001). Social categorization, social identification, and rejection of deviant group members. In M. A. Hogg & R. S. Tindale (eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology: Group processes (pp. 400–424). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Packer, D. J. (2011). The dissenter's dilemma and a social identity solution. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 281-301). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
 

Teaching materials

• Jetten, J. & Hornsey, M. H. (2011). Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 324-344). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Faculty or entity

EPSY