Deviance and Society : Clinical, criminal and social psychological perspectives

Teacher(s)

Willemsen Jochem; Woltin Karl-Andrew;

Language

English

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.
This course will be given partially in distance learning as a function of the sanitary situation if necessary (with a rotation of students taking part face-to-face vs. at distance). If needed, in light of the exceptional situation resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic, the course will alternate face-to-face sessions and distance teaching sessions according to a calendar taking into account the epidemic’s evolution.

Evaluation methods

The evaluation is intended to measure the achievement of the intended learning outcomes. It will take five forms as detailed below. You will be given the details of the exam and the individual written assignments in the first class. Please refer to the evaluation grids and instructions for more details on the four assignments.

• Learning outcome A1-A2 : 8/20 and thus 40% 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: 4/20 and thus 20% of the final grade
  Presentation of a case study (clinical psychology)
• Learning outcome E: 4/20 and thus 20% of the final grade
  Development of an intervention (social psychology)
• Learning outcome C: 2/20 and thus 10% of the final grade
  Oral presentation of a scientific article (group work; social psychology) - this will be graded by peer-evaluation
• Learning outcome F1: 2/20 and thus 10% of the final grade
  Reflective essay (clinical psychology)

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.
NB: 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, scientific articles, and a link to an electronic version of the principal book for the social psychology part of the course: https://dial.uclouvain.be/ebook/object/ebook%3A150234

Bibliography

This is a selection of readings for the Clinical and Criminal Psychology part of the course
(a detailed bibliography will be 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 the full bibliography for the Social Psychology part of the course
(a link to the e-version of the core text book and all papers are available on Moodle)
1st session
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.
Jetten, J., Iyer, A., Hutchison, P., & Hornsey, M. J. (2011). Debating deviance: Responding to those who fall from grace. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 117-134). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
2nd session
*Levine, J. M. & Choi, H.-S. (2011). Minority influence in interacting groups: The impact of newcomers. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 73-86). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
*Nemeth, C. J. & Goncalo, J. A. (2011). Rogues and heros: Finding value in dissent.  In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 17-35). Chichester, UK: Wiley-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.
* One of these two papers in addition to the Packer (2011) paper are to be read before the session
3rd session
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.
Optional (the chapter is focused on children, but also explains the model of subjective group dynamics): Abrams, D. & Rutland, A. (2011). Children's understanding of deviance and group dynamics: the development of subjective group dynamics. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 135-157). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
4th session
*Hornsey, M. J. & Jetten, J. (2011). Imposters within groups: The psychology of claiming to be something you are not.  In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 158-178). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
*Monin, B. & O'Connor, K. (2011). Reactions to defiant deviants: Deliverance or defensiveness? In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 262-280). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Optional (the chapter is pretty similar to the empirical paper we will discuss): Morton, T. (2011). Questions about leopards and spots: Evaluating deviance against a backdrop of threats to collective success. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 95-116). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
* One of these two chapters are to be read before the session
5th session
*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. 
*Near, P. N. & Miceli, M. P. (2011). Integrating models of whistle-blowing and wrongdoing.  In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 302-323). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
* One of these two (paper or chapter) in addition to the Dungan et al. (2015) paper are to be read before the session
6th session
Griggs, R. A. (2017). Milgram's obedience study: A contentious classic reinterpreted. Teaching of Psychology, 44, 32-37.
Haslam N., Loughnan S., Perry, G. (2014). Meta-Milgram: An empirical synthesis of the obedience experiments. PLoS ONE 9(4): e93927.
Haslam, S. A. & Reicher, S. D. (2012).  Contesting the ‘‘nature’’ of conformity: What Milgram and Zimbardo’s studies really show. PLoS Biol 10(11): e1001426.
Optional (the chapter's arguments are pretty similar to those in the Haslam and Reicher (2012) paper): Haslam, S. A. & Reicher, S. D. (2011). Beyond conformity: Revisiting classic studies and exploring the dynamics of resistance. In J. Jetten & M. H. Hornsey (eds.), Rebels in groups: Dissent, diffference and defiance (pp. 324-344). 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