Essays on Burdon

Psychology of Criminal Behavior

In the contemporary world, not a day goes by without numerous reports of acts contrary to the law thus obliging the criminal justice system to play its indispensable role in comprehending and rehabilitating offenders into law-abiding citizens. Renowned psychologists such as John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner as well as Edward Thorndike through their theories in fields of behaviorism and operant conditioning exemplify the underlying concept by which the Criminal Justice System is founded. This paper thus seeks to describe the theories of behaviorism and operant conditioning in relation to the criminal justice system. I will succinctly analyze how these theories ...

Keeping Prison Drug Treatment an Option

Keeping Prison Drug Treatment an Option

Introduction

Understanding the social benefits of keeping prison drug treatment an option as part of prisoner rehabilitation engages increasing support in the ongoing debate about its efficacy. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) of the 211,150 total prison population, over 50 percent have drug related convictions (2013). From 1990 and well into the first decade of the 21st century, America's controversial "war on drugs" contributes to the continued overcrowding in the nation's prisons (VanderWaal, Taxman, & Gurka-Ndanyi, 2008, p. 127). According to van Wormer and Persson (2010), " A large percentage of inmates ...

Cigarettes are intentionally planned to provide a quick nicotine hit. Nicotine induces addiction in a similar manner as cocaine or heroin. Nicotine raises the heart rate and causes effects on many different components of the body and brain. There are many reasons as to why people smoke. People utilize smoking to support them if things are not right. Others smoke together with other people as a shared task or as a way to initiate conversations and increase self confidence. There is also a belief that smoking aids in reducing weight. There are a number of diseases that are associated with smoking including lung cancer, ...