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Evolutionary Psychology and the Rehabilitation of Offenders: Constraints and Consequences

NCJ Number
236255
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 16 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2011 Pages: 444-452
Author(s)
Tony Ward; Russil Durrant
Date Published
October 2011
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper analyzes the concept of rehabilitation and describe the key features of effective rehabilitation.
Abstract
The mainstream view in criminology and correctional psychology is that evolutionary perspectives have little to offer researchers or practitioners and may in fact lead to overly reductionist and crude responses to the complex issue of crime and its consequences. However, in the authors view all the major evolutionary approaches to the explanation of human behavior have something of value to contribute, with niche construction providing a particularly useful lens upon crime and its management. In this paper the authors analyze the concept of rehabilitation and describe the key features of effective rehabilitation. The authors argue that niche construction is responsive to the cognitive versatility and behavioral flexibility of human beings and can also accommodate the important role of social and cultural scaffolding in the rehabilitation process. (Published Abstract)