​Correctional Psychology
(Undergraduate)

Advanced Correctional Psychology (Graduate)
These courses provide basic and advanced introductions (respectively) to correctional psychology – a subfield of psychology in which basic and applied psychological science or scientifically-oriented professional practice is applied to the justice system to inform the classification, treatment, and management of offenders to reduce risk and improve public safety (Neal, 2018).  Any type of psychologist (e.g., clinical, counseling, developmental, social, cognitive, community) can engage in correctional psychology by applying the scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge of psychology to reduce offender risk and improve public safety.
 
The prison population in the U.S. has been growing at an explosive rate over the past few decades, corresponding with the deinstitutionalization movement from state hospitals. The U.S. incarcerates more people– including people with mental illness – with a much higher incarceration rate per capita than any other country in the world.  Correctional facilities have become the largest provider of mental health services in the country, with the Los Angeles County Jail now serving as the country’s largest psychiatric treatment facility.

Correctional psychologists are involved typically post-adjudication (such as conducting research on the psychological effects of prison or probation conditions; treating prison inmates; providing assessment services to inform treatment, classification).  In these courses, we will learn about the challenges and need for behavioral science research in correctional settings, the economics and psychology of incarceration in U.S. correctional facilities, intended and unintended consequences of public policies to reduce crime, and the clinical psychological science of offender assessment, classification, risk reduction, and reentry.  We read and discuss landmark legal cases, discover real cases and articles in which these issues were raised, critique these issues from both legal and scientific perspectives, and share what we learn with others.
Undergraduate Course Learning Outcomes
  • Demonstrate independent, articulate, creative thinking about the challenges associated with the criminal justice system’s use of science generally, and psychology in particular, to reduce offender risk and prevent crime.
  • Describe the unique challenges of conducting research in correctional settings.
  • Identify and discuss landmark cases that demonstrate the practical role of correctional psychology (such as prisoners’ rights to mental health treatment in Bowring v. Gamble).
  • Analyze how social and public policy contexts influence justice practices.
  • Present an organized, clear, fluid presentation on a selected correctional psychology topic.
Graduate Course Learning Outcomes
  • Demonstrate independent, articulate, creative thinking about the justice system's use of psychology to inform the classification, treatment, and management of offenders to reduce risk and improve public safety.
  • Identify and discuss landmark cases in correctional psychology (such as the constitutional rights of mentally ill prisoners in Baxstrom v. Herold and Vitek v. Jones).
  • Teach and learn from classmates about correctional psychological topics by designing an informative, organized, clear, fluid, and engaging infographic, and review your peers' projects.