Harsh Punishment Backfires: Psychologists Offer Ways To Improve Prison Environment, Reduce Violent Crime

"The current design of prison systems don't work," said criminal justice expert Joel Dvoskin, PhD, of the University of Arizona. "Overly punitive approaches used on violent, angry criminals only provide a breeding ground for more anger and more violence."

Presenting at the American Psychological Association's 117th Annual Convention, Dvoskin discussed his upcoming book, "Applying Social Science to Reduce Violent Offending," which examines why prisons are failing and what needs to change.

"Prison environments are replete with aggressive behaviors, and people learn from watching others acting aggressively to get what they want," Dvoskin said in an interview.

Applying behavior modification and social learning principles can work in corrections, he said. "For example, systematic reinforcement of pro-social behaviors is a powerful and effective way to change behavior, but it has never been used as a cornerstone of corrections," he said.

Also, punishment can be effective in changing behavior, but it only works in the short term and immediately after the unwanted behavior happens, he said. While there is a place for punishment, it should be used in psychologically informed and effective ways. However, punishment should not be one-size-fits-all, Dvoskin said.

"We need to know what may be behind the criminal behavior to know what the best treatment is," he said. "A person who commits crimes when drunk but not when sober is likely suffering from an alcohol problem. Treating the alcohol problem may diminish the criminal behavior."

Decreasing prison populations needs to be more of a priority, Dvoskin said. "This can be done by paying more attention to those with the highest risk of violent behavior rather than focusing on lesser crimes, such as minor drug offenses."

Finally, bringing work back into prisons can benefit prisoners by teaching them job skills and filling unmet job needs. With the increase in the criminal population and lack of increase in prison staff, "there is not enough supervision to allow prisoners to work and build skills," Dvoskin said. "This makes it very hard to re-enter into the civilian world and increases the likelihood of going back to prison."

With 7 million American adults in prison and almost 50 percent of them African-American males, many children are growing up without fathers and are at risk for continuing the vicious cycle of criminal behavior, Dvoskin said. "If we don't make the changes now, we will see these numbers go up."

Dvoskin, along with co-editors Jennifer Skeem, Ray Novaco and Kevin Douglas, wanted to find out what social science reveals about preventing and reducing violent crime. "Our intention," said Dvoskin, "is to avoid the extreme partisan bickering about whether to be 'soft' or 'hard' on crime, but to combine social science and common sense so that our correctional systems can more effectively change behavior. After all, isn't that their job?"