The classification of offending and crime related problems: a functional perspective

Ward, Tony; Carter, Ethan

doi:10.1080/1068316x.2018.1557182

Cited by 54 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Hanson 2009), and classification (e.g., should we classify on the basis of types of crimes, risk factors, or motives? Ward and Carter 2019). Each of the cognitive tasks associated with theoretical work is important in its own right and confers different kinds of benefits to both researchers and the wider public.…”

Section: The Role Of Theory Construction and Development In Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It could also result in the premature rejection of theories that may still offer much despite possessing significant flaws. In the correctional domain, the decision to reject functional or psychological classification schemes based on needs or motives in favor of offense and risk based classification has resulted in impoverished treatment planning (Ward and Carter 2019). A pluralist approach would have been to either (a) pit one against the other across the different arenas of prediction and treatment planning and to see how it played out or (b) develop different classification schemes for different arenas of correctional practice: a need/motive oriented system for treatment and a risk level framework for predictive purposes.…”

Section: Undervaluing the Importance Of Conceptual Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Classification practices in forensic psychology have proceeded in the absence of explicit discussion of the role of classification in science (Ward and Carter 2019). In part this is due to the applied nature of forensic and correctional psychology and its stress on reducing reoffending rates.…”

Section: Uncritical and Dogmatic Acceptance Of Existing Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In part this is due to the applied nature of forensic and correctional psychology and its stress on reducing reoffending rates. The theoretical legitimacy of basing the classification of offending related phenomena on properties such as type of crime, risk level or dynamic risk factors is simply assumed, not argued for (Ward and Carter 2019). To many it seems intuitively obvious that people who commit crimes such as fraud or violence do so because of their underlying antisocial dispositions; features that cluster together.…”

Section: Uncritical and Dogmatic Acceptance Of Existing Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why theory matters in correctional psychology

Ward

2020

Forens Psychiatr Psychol Kriminol

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Contemporary forensic psychology is characterized by a relative lack of attention to theory building and conceptual analysis. In my view, this neglect of theory amounts to theoretical illiteracy and represents a significant obstacle to the explanation of crime and its management. In this paper I explore the problem of theoretical illiteracy for forensic psychological research and practice. First, I discuss why theory is important in science and the dangers of ignoring it. Second, I review the role of theory in addressing the myriad of practical problems facing human beings. Third, I outline three strategies to increase researchers and practitioners' appreciation of theory construction and development: adopting a more comprehensive model of scientific method, epistemic iteration, and promoting model pluralism. Fourth, I examine two examples of core concepts from correctional psychology, that of dynamic risk factors and classification, and demonstrate how the above strategies can be used to address problems with these constructs. Keywords Classification • Theoretical illiteracy • Dynamic risk factors • Protective factors • Treatment Zur Bedeutung von Theorie in der Vollzugspsychologie Theorie-Illetrismus und therapeutische Ineffektivität Zusammenfassung Die forensische Psychologie ist derzeit durch ein relatives Defizit an Aufmerksamkeit für Theoriebildung und konzeptuelle Analyse gekennzeichnet. Aus Sicht des Autors läuft diese Vernachlässigung auf einen Theorie-Illetrismus hinaus und stellt ein erhebliches Hindernis für die Erklärung von Straftaten und deren Bewältigung dar. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird das Problem des Theorie-Illetrismus für die forensisch-psychologische Forschung und Praxis untersucht. Zunächst wird diskutiert, warum Theorie in der Wissenschaft wichtig ist und welche Gefahren entstehen, wenn sie ignoriert wird. Zweitens wird die Rolle der Theorie beim Umgang mit den zahllosen praktischen Problemen, mit denen Menschen konfrontiert sind, untersucht. Dann werden 3 Möglichkeiten skizziert, wie Forschende und konkret Praktizierende die Theoriebildung und-entwicklung besser einschätzen können: die Annahme eines umfassenderen Modells wissenschaftlicher Methodik, die epistemische Iteration und die Förderung des Modellpluralismus. Viertens werden exemplarisch 2 Schlüsselkonzepte aus der Justizvollzugspsychologie überprüft: dynamische Risikofaktoren und Klassifikation. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, wie die beschriebenen Strategien eingesetzt werden können, um Probleme mit diesen Konstrukten anzugehen.

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Section: The Role Of Theory Construction and Development In Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Undervaluing the Importance Of Conceptual Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uncritical and Dogmatic Acceptance Of Existing Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Uncritical and Dogmatic Acceptance Of Existing Theoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why theory matters in correctional psychology

Ward

2020

Forens Psychiatr Psychol Kriminol

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“…I then use these tools, in the next section, to evaluate some representative scientific approaches to crime. This analysis is intended to be a complement to that theoretical work in the sciences of criminology showcased in this volume (Day, Tamatea, and Gaia, 2019;Durrant, 2019;Fortune and Heffernan, 2019;Dixon, Harkness, and Wegerhoff, 2019;Raine and Ling, 2019;McGee and Farrington, 2019;Ward and Carter, 2019;Weaver, 2019).…”

Section: Conceptual Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving cumulative progress in understanding crime: some insights from the philosophy of science

Sullivan

2019

Psychology, Crime & Law

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Crime is a serious social problem, but its causes are not exclusively social. There is growing consensus that explaining and preventing it requires interdisciplinary research efforts. Indeed, the landscape of contemporary criminology includes a variety of theoretical models that incorporate psychological, biological and sociological factors. These multidisciplinary approaches, however, have yet to radically advance scientific understandings of crime and shed light on how to manage it. In this paper, using conceptual tools on offer in the philosophy of science in combination with theoretical work represented in this special volume of Psychology, Crime and Law, I provide some perspective on why explanatory progress in criminology has remained elusive and evaluate some positive proposals for attaining it.

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