Identifying the Premise
In the article by Pawelski (2020), the author discusses the importance of novel approaches to caring for people where positive psychology serves as the essential backbone for attaining optimistic outcomes in criminals. The main belief covered in the article is that the majority of existing approaches to criminal behaviors can be mixed in different proportions to achieve valuable results. The importance of positive criminology can be viewed through the prism of Pawelski’s (2020) article due to the fact that it hints at certain approaches that could be utilized to develop novel intervention programs and reduce re-offense rates. The importance of a positive approach can be explained by the need to empower incarcerated populations and help them overcome the urge to re-offend upon being released. Pawelski (2020) does not address the field of criminal justice directly, but his view of positive psychology makes it safe to say that it could be utilized to prevent delinquencies and empower detainees.
Synthesizing Evidence
The article written by Pawelski (2020) represents a detailed analysis of positive psychology interventions that could be associated with almost any sphere of the daily lives of individuals across the globe. Even though the author does not go into elaborating on all existing categories of interventions, there are quite a few elements that could be seen playing an important role in showcasing updated approaches to criminal justice and establishing innovative positive criminology permutations. In line with Pawelski (2020), there are exercises that could be utilized to increase positive emotions in the target population and engage them in altering their life outcomes. Similar findings have been presented by Walgrave et al. (2021), who stated that individuals have to be motivated to achieve positive outcomes and maintain decent wellbeing. From the point of view of positive psychology interventions, criminology could be seen as an area where altered approaches to criminals would generate new solutions without any particular challenges.
Pawelski (2020) noted that the majority of interventions would work only in the case where there was a focus on good things. This suggestion is critical for the criminal justice perspective because there may be too many distractions averting wrongdoers from correcting their mistakes (Linebach & Kovacsiss, 2016). The changes that can be made to criminals’ target systems can be found at the top of the list of active ingredients of positive criminology. Therefore, positive psychology interventions could lead to more uplifting stories coming from correctional facilities, motivating more offenders to step away from their destructive behaviors (Pawelski, 2020). It can be suggested that the criminal justice environment does not allow for a proper opportunity to illustrate the challenges that wrongdoers have to cope with during their exposure to the consequences of their actions. Positive psychology interventions discussed by Pawelski (2020) and covered by Walgrave et al. (2021) represent a crucial element in the process of altering societal outlooks on crimes and ensuring that only the most reasonable strategies are applied.
The article presented by Pawelski (2020) can be connected to evidence presented in the book by Linebach and Kovacsiss (2016). Positive criminology is a relatively recent concept that reinforces the importance of looking into personal strengths and ensuring that deviance could be translated into positive interactions. Even if not focused on criminal justice, Pawelski’s (2020) article showcases the biggest advantages of positive criminology by covering strong external influence and various encounters and their impact on human development. Accordingly, it can be hypothesized that containment, reception, and mutual help are the three variables contributing to the successful implementation of positive psychology interventions across the criminal justice system (Pawelski, 2020; Walgrave et al., 2021). Such findings also underline the covert positive components in the criminological discourse that yet have to be recognized by criminal justice officials. From the research stage to real-life practice, positive psychology interventions should be considered an opportunity for criminal justice facility staff members to avoid resistance and relapse.
Findings offered by Pawelski (2020) sound extremely encouraging because the author conducted extensive research on positive psychology to contribute to various areas of practice. With the aid of positive criminology, policymaking bodies and law enforcement agents could join forces to develop a completely new perspective on crimes and who commits them. Linebach and Kovacsiss (2016) and Walgrave et al. (2021) touched upon these subjects in a superficial manner, leaving enough room for the conclusion that positive psychology interventions are crucially underresearched at the moment. A traditional outlook on criminology does not explain all crimes, nor does it bring any durability or validity to the field of criminal justice (Linebach & Kovacsiss, 2016). The article written by Pawelski (2020) can be deemed a detailed indication of the effectiveness of positive psychology and the numerous areas of practice. Pawelski’s (2020) and Walgrave et al.’s (2021) articles intersect in the point where education, rehabilitation, and prevention create a new framework for addressing positive criminology and its value for criminal justice as a whole.
Critically Evaluating the Premise
From the perspective of traditional criminology, Pawelski’s (2020) article can be considered exceptionally innovative due to an unconventional outlook on deviance and its social consequences. The implications of these findings are rather broad because human offender experiences vary significantly, and there cannot be any scenarios ignored by researchers. Irrespective of being a relatively short research article, the work under review reinforced the value of positive psychology and outlined some of the potential venues of development. The risks that have to be covered when discussing criminal justice mostly revolve around the inability to desist illegal behaviors (Linebach & Kovacsiss, 2016). The article by Pawelski (2020) outlines the possible ways of implementing positive psychology interventions and what could be some of the essential challenges to expect over time. In the case of attaining specific insights related to criminal justice, the findings from Pawelski’s (2020) article could be utilized to generate a positive outlook on criminal justice and search for optimism.
The key problem with positive criminology is that the primary outlook on wrongdoers supposedly makes the community believe that nothing can be done to prevent crimes or establish a stronger correctional infrastructure. As an example of a broader perspective on the issue, Pawelski’s (2020) article proves that pessimistic perceptions have to be eradicated in order to achieve more balance across the criminal justice system and view reality through the prism of meaningful approaches to punishable activities. Linebach and Kovacsiss (2016), for example, discuss criminal activities as something that cannot be largely prevented. The article under review is a detailed representation of how positive psychology could affect criminal justice processes and curb different tendencies among wrongdoers. Walgrave et al. (2021) and Pawelski (2020) review the traditional dark sides of humankind and place emphasis on rehabilitation and kindness instead of re-offense and failure.
References
Linebach, J., & Kovacsiss, L. (2016). Psychology in the justice system. CreateSpace.
Pawelski, J. O. (2020). The elements model: Toward a new generation of positive psychology interventions. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(5), 675-679. Web.
Walgrave, L., Ward, T., & Zinsstag, E. (2021). When restorative justice meets the Good Lives Model: Contributing to a criminology of trust. European Journal of Criminology, 18(3), 444-460. Web.