Devon Leigh Logan Polaschek is a New Zealand professor of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and of Crime Science at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

in New Zealand who studies high-risk violent offenders in prisons and on parole. In 2011, she spoke at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

about

recidivism Recidivism (; from 'recurring', derived from 'again' and 'to fall') is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to Extinction (psycholo ...

and about the myth that offenders cannot be treated. She also said that psychopaths who had many previous convictions became worse after poorly implemented treatment. However, in 2014 she published an article dispelling the myths about psychopathy and argues that they can be successfully treated using the same methods that are used in the treatment of high risk, high need, and high responsivity offenders. Currently she continues her research at the Violence Prevention Unit Te Whare Manaakitanga, in Wellington's Rimutaka Prison. Having previously been with

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, she moved to the University of Waikato in December 2016 and gave her inaugural lecture on 30 May 2017. In the

2019 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Polaschek was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to criminal psychology.

Selected works

* Ward, Tony, Devon Polaschek, and Anthony R. Beech. Theories of sexual offending. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. * Skeem, Jennifer L., Devon LL Polaschek, Christopher J. Patrick, and Scott O. Lilienfeld. "Psychopathic personality: Bridging the gap between scientific evidence and public policy." Psychological Science in the Public Interest 12, no. 3 (2011): 95–162. * Skeem, Jennifer L., Jennifer Eno Louden, Devon Polaschek, and Jacqueline Camp. "Assessing relationship quality in mandated community treatment: Blending care with control." Psychological assessment 19, no. 4 (2007): 397. * Polaschek, Devon LL, and Tony Ward. "The implicit theories of potential rapists: What our questionnaires tell us." Aggression and violent behavior 7, no. 4 (2002): 385–406. * Garry, Maryanne, and Devon LL Polaschek. "Imagination and memory." Current Directions in Psychological Science 9, no. 1 (2000): 6–10.

References

External links

Google Scholar

Researchgate
!-- -->
Institutional homepage
Living people 20th-century births Australian psychologists Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Academic staff of the University of Waikato Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Year of birth missing (living people) Victoria University of Wellington alumni {{Psychologist-stub