and punishment that can be said to characterize the criminal system even today, is very much in opposition to the values embedded in the field of social work (Gumz 2004) Even though this ideology is very much present today, through the last 30 years or so, a new form of contemporary psychology has emerged that has radically challenged and questioned this individualistic view on human behavior. Human behavior cannot be adequately understood by looking on the subject disconnected from the social context in which he or she is imbedded. Our actions are not determined by internal forces alone, but are also formed by our interaction with the world we live in. As such, the understanding of the origin of criminality was challenged. As Craig Haney puts it: problem of crime and violence formerly viewed in almost “The – exclusively terms are now understood through multi-level analyses that – grant equal if not primary significance to situational, community and structural variables” (Haney 2005: 77) This understanding must also profoundly change our view on incarceration and imprisonment. Prisons do something to people. The way people behave when in prison cannot be understood without taking into account that this behavior is taking place in a prison. Also the understanding that deviant behavior is not only the product of a flawed soul but also linked to our place in the world, opens up for the possibility of rehabilitation that would not be possible from the more deterministic view on human behavior. Prison reforms have become more and more common. The goal with implementing these has been to create a more humane prison environment for the detainees (Bertrand-Godfrey and Loewenthal 2011). These changes have opened new doors for social workers wanting to work in the prison setting. These opposing ideologies when it comes to prisons are?” and “what what role they should have in the society also emphasize the paradoxical
and punishment that can be said to characterize the criminal system even today, is very much in opposition to the values embedded in the field of social work (Gumz 2004) Even though this ideology is very much present today, through the last 30 years or so, a new form of contemporary psychology has emerged that has radically challenged and questioned this individualistic view on human behavior. Human behavior cannot be adequately understood by looking on the subject disconnected from the social context in which he or she is imbedded. Our actions are not determined by internal forces alone, but are also formed by our interaction with the world we live in. As such, the understanding of the origin of criminality was challenged. As Craig Haney puts it: “The problem of crime and violence – formerly viewed in almost exclusively terms – are now understood through multi-level analyses that grant equal if not primary significance to situational, community and structural variables” (Haney 2005: 77) This understanding must also profoundly change our view on incarceration and imprisonment. Prisons do something to people. The way people behave when in prison cannot be understood without taking into account that this behavior is taking place in a prison. Also the understanding that deviant behavior is not only the product of a flawed soul but also linked to our place in the world, opens up for the possibility of rehabilitation that would not be possible from the more deterministic view on human behavior. Prison reforms have become more and more common. The goal with implementing these has been to create a more humane prison environment for the detainees (Bertrand-Godfrey and Loewenthal 2011). These changes have opened new doors for social workers wanting to work in the prison setting. These opposing ideologies when it comes to “what prisons are?” and what role they should have in the society also emphasize the paradoxical