On May 27th, at the Annual Convention of the Association for Psychological Science in Chicago, Dr. Geraldine Downey chaired a symposium presenting new psychological research examining perceptions and experiences of the currently and formerly incarcerated, and related implications for social policy.
Michael J. Naft, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychology at Columbia, presented findings from studies examining psychological and behavioral effects of disclosure of one’s criminal identity in the employment-seeking context. This research sheds light on how the formerly incarcerated experience stigma in one of the most common, and consequential, situations faced by individuals coming home from prison.
Christopher Medina-Kirchner presented on the background, development, and validation of a scale used to measure individual differences to rejection based on the stigma that arises from being incarcerated and/or having a record. He found that there is individual variability in how people may anxiously expect, perceive or react to this rejection, but that it is important to address the systems that create these experiences of rejection rather than those on the receiving end of it. Towards this end, he encouraged the audience to take the “Fair Chance Pledge” and support the “Ban the Box” campaign in order to eliminate barriers and provide alternate pathways to success for people who have been incarcerated and/or have a record.
Larisa Heiphetz, an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Columbia, presented findings from studies examining perceptions of those who have been convicted of crimes. She discussed evidence of the extent to which American adults endorse essentialist views of criminality — views conceptualizing criminality as biologically based, innate, and immutable — and of links between essentialist views and endorsement of harsh punishment. This work highlights potential consequences of essentialism, shedding light on conditions that give rise to punitive judgments.