2. Behaviour Modification

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about behaviour modification as a form of rehabilitation, focusing in particular on: (i) the definition of behaviour modification as changing a person’s criminal behaviour into non-criminal behaviour; (ii) the aims of behaviour modification programmes to reinforce obedience and desirable behaviour in offenders, using operant conditioning; (iii) token economy programmes within prisons as a method of implementing behaviour modification principles; (iv) debates around the effectiveness of token economies, suggesting their effectiveness is limited to the short-term for young offenders.

Course

In this course, Professor Ciarán O’Keeffe (Buckinghamshire New University) explores how the judicial system deals with offenders, from both a punishment arm and a rehabilitation arm. In the first lecture, we think about dealing with offenders from a punitive perspective by exploring the four custodial aims: deterrent, incapacitation, retribution, and rehabilitation. In the second lecture, we think about behaviour modification as the first form of rehabilitation, understanding it as an application of operant conditioning. Next, we think about anger management as another form of rehabilitation, including the three stages of cognitive behavioural techniques application, and Ainsworth’s three stages of an anger management programme. In the fourth and final lecture, we think about restorative justice as the last form of rehabilitation, discussing its benefits for both the offender and the victim.

Lecturer

Professor Ciarán O’Keeffe is associate professor of education and research and head of the School of Human and Social Sciences at Buckinghamshire New University. Professor O’Keeffe’s research interests include investigative psychology and parapsychology, and has made numerous television and radio appearances alongside an array of celebrities. Some of Professor O’Keeffe’s recent publications include 'Things That Go Bump In The Literature: An Environmental Appraisal of 'Haunted Houses'' (2020) and 'Restorative Justice and Recidivism: Investigating the impact of victim-preference for level of engagement' (2014).