About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the impacts of labelling, specifically on the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, focusing in particular on: (i) the fact that labelling places individuals in groups based on that one characteristic or event, which can negatively impact someone’s motivations to improve, as well as society’s view on them even after that improvement; (ii) the self-fulfilling prophecy in the context of non-criminal labels that are given to all people throughout their lives and how they can impact life decisions and development; (iii) the importance of considering all aspects of a person when they come into custody, in order that their strengths can be focussed on in their improvement plan.

About the lecturer

Honorary Professor Dr Geraldine Akerman is a chartered forensic psychologist, a doctoral researcher in the Department of Applied Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, as well as a visiting lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Buckinghamshire New University. Dr Akerman’s forensic psychology role involves working with adult males in a prison-based therapeutic community to help reduce the risk of reoffending. Some of Dr Akerman’s recent publications include 'The Development of a fantasy modification programme for a prison-based therapeutic community' (2008) and 'The Development of a Psychometric Measure of Current Sexual Interest' (Submitted).